NCAA

Georgetown Basketball Hires Ed Cooley As Head Coach

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated21 Mar 2023

Georgetown Basketball Hires Ed Cooley As Head Coach

Georgetown basketball has hired Providence coach Ed Cooley as the Hoyas’ next head coach, according to sources. Cooley is set to become the program’s 18th head coach in its 113-year, 111-season history. Cooley’s overall record as a head coach is 334-222 (.601).

Under former head coach Patrick Ewing, the Hoyas went 75-109 (.408) overall and 28-81 (.257) in the Big East over the last six seasons under the NBA Hall of Famer. In addition to going 13-50 the last two seasons, Georgetown suffered through a 29-game conference losing streak.

Per multiple March Madness betting sites, Alabama is now the favorite to win the 2023 NCAA Tournament. However, a few sportsbooks are still showing great odds for No. 1 Houston, No. 2 Texas, and No. 2 UCLA.

Ed Cooley, 53, was pursued by Georgetown over the weekend after No. 11 Providence lost 61-53 against No. 6 Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Over the course of 12 seasons, the Rhode Island native coached the Friars to an outright record of 242-153 (.613). Providence made the NCAA Tournament in seven of the past nine years.

Meanwhile, Georgetown reached the NCAA Tournament in just one of the previous seven years. The Hoyas have not finished with a winning record in the Big East since the 2014-15 season. Along with winning the 1984 national championship, Georgetown has reached five Final Fours in program history.

Georgetown basketball hires Ed Cooley as head coach, days after program fired Patrick Ewing and Providence’s loss to Kentucky in NCAA Tournament

Ed Cooley was born in Providence, Rhode Island, so it makes sense why the veteran coach has spent his entire coaching career in New England. He began his career as an assistant coach at UMass Dartmouth (1994–95) and Stonehill College (1995–96), his alma mater.

After working with the Skyhawks, the 2014 Big East champ then worked as an assistant coach at Rhode Island (1996–97) before coaching the Eagles at Boston College from 1997 through 2006. So, maybe Georgetown can turn things around under Cooley.

Furthermore, Cooley became head coach of Fairfield in 2006 after nine seasons spent as an assistant with the Eagles. He went on to lead the Stags to an MAAC regular season championship in 2011 before signing with Providence.

Last season, following a career-best record of 27-6 with the Friars, Cooley was named Big East Coach of the Year and Naismith College Coach of the Year. Providence made its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1997.

In 12 seasons with the Friars, Cooley won the Big East Tournament in 2014, the program’s second conference tournament title in its history. In the 2022-23 season, Providence started 14-3 overall and 6-0 in conference play before finishing 21-12 outright and losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Kentucky.

Additionally, Cooley’s contract terms with Georgetown are unknown at this time. It must have been a generous offer to pull the veteran coach away from Providence.

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