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Please Don't Go, Ed, Please

Ed Cooley started gaining more attention as an up and coming coach after the 2010-2011 season that he had at Fairfield, which he led the Stags to a regular season MAAC Title and a berth in the NIT. At the end of that season, it is rumored that he told his assistant/secretary "only pick up if Providence calls" or something epic along those lines, and thankfully they did call. Fast Forward to 2018, the local legend has become a savior to this program. He is about to lead Providence to their fifth straight NCAA Tournament, and is putting on an absolutely incredible performance in the Big East Tournament as the Friars beat Creighton on Thursday and then despite being down 17 in the 2nd half, knocked off top seeded Xavier last night. After being down 14 at half, Cooley had freshmen Makai Ashton-Langford and Nate Watson out there to start the final 20 minutes. That provided a spark for the Friars as they went on a 20-7 run and stellar play by Kyron Cartwright and Rodney Bullock got them into overtime, and eventually a three point victory.

Prior to the start of the tournament, PC had not been having the caliber year that many fans, including myself, were expecting. They ended the regular season at 19-11 which got them the 5 seed in the tournament and on the bubble for the NCAA’s. Now the Friars are looking at a possible single-digit seed in the tournament depending on their performance tonight against Villanova. Obviously they have played great, Cartwright, Bullock, Watson as well as Alpha Diallo and Isaiah Jackson deserve some recognition for the team’s improvement, but I find it very hard to not give Cooley the majority of the credit. The guy coaches his ass off every game, and guys just want to play for him. His knowledge, his energy and his passion are contagious, if you need proof just go watch any postgame footage of him in the locker room. Not only will this be their fifth straight tournament berth they have also won 20+ games for each of the past 5 years as well and Cooley has a 47-18 record in overtime games and games that are decided by 6 points or less at Providence, better numbers than any other coach in the country. The numbers, the skill, the leadership and the dedication are all there, which is why I believe the offers from bigger schools are coming very soon, especially if they pull off another win tonight or make some noise next week.

I’m not saying that I’m not confident he will stay, he’s been nothing but loyal to the city and the fans, but this guy is proven to be one of the best college basketball coaches and is more than worthy of any job in America. Ed, I really think the offers are going to come rolling in soon and I just want to thank you on behalf of Friartown, for all that you’ve done, and ask you to stay. *inserts link to Rihanna song here*

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