Tag Archives: Ed Cooley

Recruiting News

2016 Alpha Diallo Pledges to Providence

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Ed Cooley had been on the hunt for talent to add to his roster for 2016-17 and beyond. On Tuesday, Cooley got a commitment from a top 100 wing player in Alpha Diallo. Diallo, a native of NYC, attended NEPSAC powerhouse Brewster Academy for his final year of high school. The news was first reported by Evan Daniels on Twitter. He will be the first Brewster Academy alumnus to commit to Providence directly from Brewster since Weyinmi Efejuku, another NYC native, donned a Friar uniform from 2005-2009. Former Friar Kyle Wright attended Brewster, but came to Providence via Monroe College. Diallo’s commitment also gives Cooley his first recruit ranked in ESPN’s Top 100 since he brought Paschal Chukwu and Jalen Lindsey to Providence in the recruiting class of 2014. Cooley has had at least one player ranked in ESPN’s Top 100 in every recruiting class at Providence except the first one in 2011 and the last one in 2015.

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Coaching Staff

Ed Cooley Promotes Ivan Thomas to Vacant Assistant Coach Position

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Ed Cooley is now being forced to hire a replacement assistant coach for the second straight offseason. Last Spring, Bob Simon left for Alabama. This Spring, Andre LaFleur left for UNLV. Cooley also had to make another coaching hire last offseason that may have flown under the radar, but now seems more significant. Mike Jackson left his position on Cooley’s staff as the Coordinator of Basketball Operations, which was filled by Kevin Kurbec. Kurbec moved up from his position of Associate Director of Player Development/Video Ops. That musical chairs led to Cooley hiring Kecoughtan High School head coach Ivan Thomas to Kurbec’s former position. Fast-forward to the present and Cooley has decided to promote Thomas to the vacant assistant coach position vacated by LaFleur’s departure on April 21st. That’s quite a whirlwind move for a former Virginia high school and AAU coach. Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal first reported the news of Thomas’ promotion.

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Coaching Staff

Report: Providence Associate Head Coach Andre LaFleur Taking Position at UNLV

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A report from Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on Thursday that Providence associate head coach Andre LaFleur would join Marvin Menzies staff at UNLV. Menzies was hired on April 16th. This means Ed Cooley is losing his associate head coach for the second straight offseason after Bob Simon took a job on newly hired Alabama coach Avery Johnson’s staff last April. LaFleur and Simon were co-associate head coaches during Simon’s final year with the Friars. LaFleur joined Cooley’s staff at Providence after being at Connecticut under Jim Calhoun from 2001-2011. LaFleur was Calhoun’s point guard at Northeastern. LaFleur grew up in Los Angeles, CA.

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Junior Lomomba, Recruiting News

Junior Lomomba Leaving Providence to “Explore Other Opportunities”

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The first scholarship domino has fallen and it comes in the form of redshirt junior Junior Lomomba opting not to return to Providence of his 5th and final year of eligibility. Providence sent out a release with the information on Wednesday. Lomomba came to Friartown after a season at Cleveland State and played 66 games for the Friars. He averaged 3.6 points/game and 1.9 rebounds/game in a Providence uniform. Beyond the stats, Lomomba was a good defender and provided leadership, especially last season as a captain who started all 35 games. The native of Montreal graduate in May.

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Links of the Day

#pcbb Links of the Day 4/20/16

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Recruiting News

Providence Lands Juco Forward Emmitt Holt

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Providence has landed their second recruit for next season with the commitment of junior college forward Emmitt Holt of Indian Hills JC. Holt’s commitment was first reported by Eric Bossi of Rivals.com. Holt, at Indian Hills JC by way of Indiana, adds some much needed size for Ed Cooley’s frontline next season. Holt visited Providence’s campus last weekend, along with Wake Forest graduate transfer Andre Washington.

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Recruiting News

Providence Recruiting News and Notes: Grassroots Circuits Underway

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This past weekend marked the kickoff for all three shoe-sponsored leagues and Providence had coaches at all of three of those events, while also monitoring some events that aren’t run by the sneaker companies. I was between the Nike EYBL session in Brooklyn and the Under Armour Association in lower Manhattan. Joining me going between these events all weekend was Associate Head Coach Andre LaFleur. Brian Blaney was in Dallas for the adidas Gauntlet series’ opening event, while Jeff Battle was spotted in Staten Island at the Elevate Hoops event. Ed Cooley wasn’t on the road this weekend as he was back on campus hosting a pair of transfer targets. More on that later.

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