Tag Archives: Ed Cooley

Ed Cooley

Statement of Head Men’s Basketball Coach Ed Cooley re: Allegations of Sexual Assault #pcbb

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March 18, 2014

I grew up in Providence, so I fully know and appreciate that Providence College is a very special place for everyone – students, alumni, faculty and staff. Everything that Providence College stands for is what inspired me to pursue the opportunity to earn the position of men’s basketball coach.

So, naturally I was saddened by this situation. But, this does provide the opportunity to stress that we will not compromise the promise that we’ve made to ourselves, our school, our students and their families to build and run the most respected men’s basketball program in the nation. A program that will expect our student athletes to meet the highest standards, both on and off the court.

This promise was the foundation of my decision in November to suspend the two young men indefinitely for failing to meet the standards expected of student-athletes while the college’s internal disciplinary process took place.

So, while I cannot talk about this situation further, it is a reminder that the privilege of representing Providence College comes with great responsibility for our student-athletes. And any decision I make will be driven by whether it is the right one for Providence College and its students.

I can tell you that I did receive a phone call from Coach Altman. I explained that I could not speak to the details of the suspension but that we were taking the matter very seriously. I cannot speak for that basketball program at another University or why they made the decision they did.

NCAA Tournament

Thoughts on the Week Leading to the Game

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For many of us, the shock of being the Big East Champions may not have worn off quite yet. For Ed Cooley, the whirlwind has just begun. It’s all good for the program and Cooley is so well liked in coaching and media circles that it makes total sense, but the media barrage that he has already begun has to be taking a toll. I’m exhausted and all I did was drink beer and cheer for 3 days/nights.

Yesterday, Cooley began the media frenzy early by appearing on the Tim Brando Show just after 10am. He followed that up by working with Nike to put together some clips for their Nike Pro Answers series. In the late afternoon, Cooley appeared on Katz Korner on ESPNU around 4:30pm with Andy Katz and former Friar HC, Tim Welsh, called in to “Bracket Busters” on CBS Sports Network and then capped off his media heavy day by appearing on WFAN in NYC with Mike Francesa just after 5pm (who will be moving to Fox Sports 1 simulcast on 3/24/14). He also apparently was over at his home to check on some last minute construction issues early this morning ahead of his family moving back in after the fire in January. There will also be countless calls from print reporters to get quotes for articles ahead of the first appearance by PC in the Big Dance since 2004.

For those who haven’t seen or heard much of what Cooley talks about on these national shows, get ready to hear a lot about the following all week:

  • Cooley’s inspirational weight loss – he’s down over 125 lbs since the summer
  • Cooley’s house fire that has caused his family to live in a hotel for the past 2+ months
  • Bryce Cotton’s amazing career and senior season and how he is still underappreciated.

We, as sports fans, tend to like to put together storylines and give everything a narrative to follow. Sometimes the narrative is accurate – like with Cooley and Cotton – and other times the narrative is just put on a situation to fit our hopes or to make sense of a situation. The narrative for this PC team is a very genuine one. They have had to overcome A LOT of adversity as a team and program over the last year and a half. They are led by a very humble and quiet kid in Cotton and they truly are all about “Heart & Soul” which appears to have been their motto for the Big East season.

Obviously I want them to win on Friday (and I think they have a legitimate chance to do just that) but at this point, they are playing with house money for me. I’m just so thrilled for Cotton, Batts and the rest of the seniors that they were the team that broke through and brought this program back onto that blue carpet. This is a team led by seniors who are playing to leave everything on the floor. This is a team who wasn’t even supposed to be in the NCAA Tournament. It’s a team that sounds pretty dangerous to me.

Ed Cooley

Ed Cooley Media Blitz from Yesterday 3/17/14 #pcbb

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WFAN – Mike’s On – Mike Francesa Show

ESPNU “Katz Korner”

CBS Sports “Bracket Breakdown”

Coach was also on the Tim Brando Show yesterday in the morning for a few minutes but I don’t have audio of that. The gist of the interview, which was short because Cooley was a few minutes late calling in, was how great it was to win the Big East championship and they discussed the weight loss and then Jim Boeheim was the next guest and Brando had him come on the air and congratulate Cooley which was nice.

Ed Cooley

Ed Cooley Introductory Press Conference: “We’re Gonna Stand On Top of (the Big East) One Day.” #pcbb

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You may not recognize him since he has lost the equivalent to half a person since this press conference happened but you will recognize his incredible passion, emotion and fire. I guarantee this 8 minute video will give you chills.

2:11 mark – “Not only will we win here, not only do I believe we’re gonna win here, but we’re gonna win and we’re gonna win big.”

2:48 mark – “Make sure you have a ticket as we go through this journey…The writers that are here…we need you to have positive articles about our development. There’s gonna be some bumps in the road. That’s what it’s about. That’s why you enjoy the journey. If you sprint right to the top you can’t look behind you and see how far you’ve come. Let’s do this thing the right way, piece by piece, brick by brick. We want to become the most dominant, most physical, most disciplined team, not this year, not next year, every year. That’s who we want to become.”

4:26 mark – “Once we understand that this is a family, once we understand that this is a community, once we understand that we will absolutely set this place on fire and if you’re late, don’t come in. Don’t come in.”

5:25 mark – (to the players) “Make your free throws. Make sure we go to class. You will be the example. You will be the kings. You all will be somebody that young men would want to become. I wanted to be a Providence College Friar. I wasn’t good enough. One of my teammates was, Abdul Abdullah. I hope he’s in here. I think Abdul won a Big East Championship if I don’t stand correct. We don’t want one, we don’t want two, we don’t want three, as long as I’m here, I want em all. And that can start as easy as tomorrow, that can start today. You have to have a goal, have to have a vision. But you have to do that collectively. Players are everything to me.”

7:26 mark – “We’ll get this done. It’s not gonna be easy. We play in the toughest conference in the country. But we’re gonna stand on top of that conference one day. And if you believe it, you’ll see it. If you see it, you’ll do it. If you want to be part of it, make sure you go buy a season ticket. Thank you.”

Game Previews & Recaps

Rapid Reaction: We’re Dancing Baby! #pcbb

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For the first time in 10 years the Providence College Friars are heading to the NCAA Tournament. And it won’t because they had to sweat out Selection Sunday. These Friars were on a mission. 3 games in 3 days. And a Big East Championship is heading back to Friartown for the first and only other time since 1994.

Bryce Cotton won the MVP but didn’t make the All-Tournament team somehow but Henton made the All-Tournament team.

Go crazy Friartown! We are on that Blue Carpet!

Game Previews & Recaps

Game Notes & Preview: PC vs Creighton 3/15/14 Big East Championship #pcbb

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Where: Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

When: 8:30PM

How: Fox Sports 1 (Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery and Erin Andrews) /WEEI 103.7 FM (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)

Game Notes

  • The Friars and the Blue Jays have obviously never met in the Big East Tournament since this is Creighton’s first year of Big East membership.
  • LaDontae Henton picked a great time for a season high of 26 points yesterday in the semifinal win over Seton Hall. In 4 career Big East Tournament games, Henton has averaged 16 ppg and 10 rpg.
  • Bryce Cotton’s 10 assists last night came up just 1 short of the PC record for assists in a Big East Tournament game.
  • The Friars are 1-3 all time in the Big East Tournament against 2 seeds.
  • Bryce Cotton joins Friar great Ryan Gomes as the only two Friars to ever be named to the First Team All-Big East more than once.
  • Providence will be looking for win number 23 tonight. They haven’t won 23 games since they went 24-12 in 1997.
  • Line opened at PC +7

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