While I wasn’t drinking before, during or after Monday night’s debacle at the Dunk – though maybe I should have been – I wanted to try to sleep on the game and let Ed Cooley’s post game remarks marinate before trying to write a sober analysis that is free of any emotional rantings. Frankly I was a little surprised at how calm Cooley was during his post game presser. I’m not sure if he is intentionally trying to get away from some of his more emotional pressers of the past but I thought for sure he would be on a semi-rampage last night. Maybe that’s a lesson for everyone else.

The best I can do is try to offer some perspective on this season and the program as a whole. While the Rhode Island sky may be falling with a loss to crosstown rival Brown, the Friars have every chance to redeem themselves Wednesday night against the University of Rhode Island. But leaving any future games aside, here are some things to think about on this rainy Tuesday.

“I want people to believe when things are at their worst.”

That’s a quote from Cooley’s press conference following Monday night’s loss. My initial reaction after hearing him say that was that it would be easier to believe if the team was playing with greater effort. But after thinking about this line a little more deeply I’ve come to a different conclusion: it isn’t unfair for him to want that. When the program was in utter disarray prior to Ed Cooley’s arrival in March 2011 the thought of a Big East Tournament Championship or appearance in the NCAA Tournament seemed like a pipe dream. Not only was the Friar program embarrassing on the court with their lack of defense and structured basketball but the program was also embarrassing off the court with constant issues at bars and parties culminating in the Lacy/Still incident in April 2010.

I think part of the issue with fan [over]reaction is that Providence won the Big East Tournament last season. Coming off the dumpster fire that was raging prior to Cooley’s arrival fans seemed willing to give him at least 5 years to turn things around especially with the way he was recruiting early on. Winning in year 3 may be a bit of a curse at this point because expectations are raised in year 4 when the building process may have only been starting to bear fruit for the first time in year 4 or 5. I don’t think many people would argue that there is more talent up and down the roster in 2014-15 than there was in 2013-14. The program has truly been built “brick by brick” like Cooley said it would. There have certainly been some cracks in the bricks along the way with eligibility issues and the Austin/Bullock situation of last Fall but the program is more stable now than it has been in a long time.

It’s tough to pull back and look at the big picture for a lot of fans, myself included at times. The reality is that beyond LaDontae Henton, Carson Desrosiers, Tyler Harris and Ted Bancroft the rest of this roster is young and inexperienced. Anytime freshmen are asked to be large contributors there are going to be growing pains. The thing that is perplexing a lot of people about the team right now is how they can look so good for a weekend at Mohegan Sun and then look so bad at Boston College and at home against Brown. The answer lies somewhere between inexperience and lack of confidence.

All things considered the Providence College basketball program is heading in a very good direction. It might be hard to see after a home loss to Brown but have faith, Friartown. In Cooley we trust.

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