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Watch Coach Ed Cooley’s Speech at “A Night in Black & White” on April 12th
Follow me on Twitter: @pcbb1917
Follow me on Twitter: @pcbb1917
I tried and tried to find the audio of this show online somewhere to listen as it was happening but had no luck. Luckily our friend FriarTV was able to capture audio from most of the Ed Cooley Radio Show that aired at 6pm on Saturday before the basketball banquet. Here are some of the highlights:
Henton on next year: “I just want to feed off what we did this year. I learned a lot about leadership and knowing what it takes to win…I want to be in the best shape possible so I can help my team get more victories.”
Henton on why he chose PC: “Honestly it was the coaching staff. I came in and they convinced me to believe and to buy in. That’s why I wanted to come here to play for someone that believes in you just as much as you believe in them.”
Cooley on Henton: “When you look to recruit young men and you talk about chemistry and you talk about personality, this kid has it all. He doesn’t need basketball to be successful. I know that’s his dream and I want him to have that dream but this young man has grown so much. I can’t brag enough about him. From how LaDontae walked in and when he was about 25 pounds overweight, he hadn’t had a haircut in 8 years…to see how this young man has changed, how his focus is unbelievable, how his dedication to Providence College, because let’s face it, when went through all that negativity, everybody could’ve bailed on us. I love that young man and there’s nothing in the world I wouldn’t do for him.”
Cooley on growing players as men: “My job in the public eye is to win games. In the public eye. Who I am as a man, I want to see these kids have life success. Whether or not we win games or lose games, if I see our young men grow as people then we’ve achieved success. They can fire us for not winning games but they’ll never fire us for not developing these young men as great people.”
Cooley on scheduling: “You want to play competitive basketball on the road. I think you need resume builders when you playing non conference games. What a tradition to go into Rupp Arena and play [there]…I’m glad the Harrison twins stayed. They’ll be one of the top one, two, three, four teams in the country and it gives Providence an opportunity to go in there and shock the world…We play URI, we play Boston College, we play UMass. We play Brown this year again.. I think this will be one of the toughest non conference schedules we’ve ever played here at Providence College.”
Cooley on importance of scheduling tough opponents for OOC: “We’re looking for another high profile game. Michigan is on the dock. Kansas is on the dock. Gonzaga is on the dock. Possibly another Big Ten team. I just think it’s really important to sell Providence College on a national scale and I think scheduling helps that to get into territories, especially areas that we recruit in…We were able to play Kentucky but we had to play them at a neutral setting and now we gotta go back to their place. We do that for our program but that’s hard to continue to do…[the Dunk] is a great place to play. I can’t thank our fans and the people that come to the Dunk making it an incredible, incredible environment. You gotta admit, the Dunk this was unbelievable. Unbelievable activity in there all year so God bless our fans. They’re great. I love playing at the Dunk…The problem is not many coaches want to schedule a tough, tough, tough road game like [against PC]…I personally like going into tough environments and play because it builds you toward February. Everything we do in the non conference is all about what we’re trying to do in conference.”
https://twitter.com/TheRecruitScoop/status/459795786008903680
In brief Chukwu is a long term stock. Love his mobility and ability to rebound and protect the rim. Has to get stronger. Lindsey has all of the physical tools that you could want. But, the motor and production have got to be more consistent. Bentil, would blossom and likely outplay his ranking if he accepts being an energy guy, a grinder and dude who saves possessions on the glass.
But, I would imagine Providence fans have to feel pretty good about the level of talent that is coming into the program.
Brice Kofane has made his decision on where he will spend his last year of eligibility next season after graduation from Providence in May. That 5th year will be spent at Monmouth in the MAAC conference. He will join 2 other players from the class of 2014 for the Hawks including a player PC looked at in Austin Tilghman who is the “brother” of incoming PC big man Ben Bentil.
In 78 career games, Kofane averaged 1.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg and nearly a block/game.
Kofane will be immediately eligible and have one year of eligibility.
https://twitter.com/_therealbrice13/status/459544446326276096