Will PC’s Cooley Be Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalist?
Wednesday, March 09, 2022
The late-season watch list for the 2022 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's Coach of the Year — which PC Friars Coach Ed Cooley is on — will be narrowed down from 15 coaches to 10 semifinalists on Thursday.
Will Cooley be on the shortlist?
On Tuesday, Cooley was named Sporting News' College Basketball Coach Of The Year, adding to the honors that he has earned recently as "The Field of 68" also recognized Cooley as the Coach of the Year on Monday and Dick Vitale named Ed Cooley as BIG EAST Coach of the Year on March 2.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCooley has guided the Friars to a 24-4 mark. In BIG EAST league play, the Friars set a team record for wins after registering a 14-3 mark and capturing the program's first BIG EAST Regular Season title. The Friars, who finished in first place, were picked to finish seventh in the annual BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released in October.
Cooley's Friars are ranked No. 11/10 in this week's polls and have been ranked for 12 consecutive weeks. The Friars won a team-record eight consecutive BIG EAST games this season, and have also posted 20 or more wins for the sixth time under Cooley.
With 24 victories, the team is tied for the highest win total during Cooley's 11 seasons at Providence. He also led the team to a 16-1 record at home, which is the squad's best mark since 1973-74 (16-0).
Cooley, who is in his 11th season at Providence, has posted a 218-139 mark during his time with the Friars, ranking second all-time in wins at Providence. His 2014 Friar squad captured the BIG EAST Tournament title.
The Friars will return to action on Thursday, March 10 when they face the winner of the 8/9 game in the Quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament. The game will tip off at 12 p.m. at Madison Square Garden and will be televised on FS1.
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