EXCLUSIVE: Cooley Picks UConn’s Andre LaFleur To Be Associate Head Coach
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Providence College men’s basketball coach Ed Cooley has been searching for an African-American coach who is a good recruiter to join his staff at PC. After identifying and speaking to a few candidates, Cooley has settled on UConn’s Andre LaFleur.
GoLocalProv.com has learned that LaFleur will be named Cooley’s associate head coach at PC sometime next week, possibly as early as Monday.
LaFleur just finished his 10th season at the University of Connecticut where the Huskies won the 2011 National Championship by defeating Butler in Houston.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTHe joined Jim Calhoun’s staff as Director of Basketball Operations in 2001, a role he served in for three seasons. LaFleur was elevated to an assistant coaching role prior to the 2004-2005 season. Among the players he recruited directly was Final Four MVP and All-American Kemba Walker.
Cooley spent days at the Final Four in Houston talking to former Virginia head coach and UConn assistant Dave Leitao. He reportedly tried to convince Leitao to join him here in Providence as associate head coach but Leitao had his eyes on Cooley’s former position at Fairfield.
Sources say Cooley also put the full court press on Wake Forest associate head coach Jeff Battle to join him here in that same position but was also turned down.
LaFleur played for Jim Calhoun at Northeastern University on the same team with the late Reggie Lewis. He is 46 years old.
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