Cooley joins Hoyas: ‘My task is to move us forward’
WASHINGTON– Ed Cooley’s job at Georgetown is to bring a once-storied program back to prominence in a competitive conference that has three groups still part of March Insanity in the Sugary food 16.
Cooley’s lofty aspirations go beyond raising the Hoyas up from the bottom of the Big East Conference. After leaving Providence, which he required to the NCAA tournament seven times in 12 years, he currently is discussing attempting to coach Georgetown to its very first championship given that 1984.
At his introductory press conference Wednesday, which felt like a pep rally, Cooley stated he desired current and previous players to envision cutting down internet and enjoying “One Shining Minute” with the internet hanging around their necks. He guaranteed wins– many of them– and outlined a course forward that he knows will include some tough times.
“It’s a process, and the process now, because you have an altering landscape in athletics, you’ll have an opportunity to probably move it quicker than you would have 10, 20 years back,” Cooley said. “We’re going to lose some games. It’s okay. Losing’s part of development. But throughout time, it will pay off.”
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Georgetown lost a lot the past number of years under Patrick Ewing, who was fired earlier this month after 6 seasons. The group went 7-25 this season after going 6-25 last season and lost 37 of 39 games in Big East play over those two seasons.Although Cooley, at Providence, was responsible for 4 of those defeats, the 53-year-old distanced himself from Georgetown’s recent run of losing.
“I don’t have anything to do with what occurred the other day,” he said. “My task is to move us forward from today.”
Cooley’s mere existence is an acknowledgement that Georgetown needed a major change to end up being appropriate once again. After Hall of Fame coach John Thompson’s 27-year run caused long time assistant Craig Esherick prospering him and after that kid John Thompson III and then Ewing getting the task, Cooley is the school’s first outdoors hire in the position in a half-century.
His only connection to the Hill– beyond training in the Big East– is his daughter, Olivia, participating in Georgetown. Cooley, a Providence local, stated her desire to live in the Washington location played into his choice to leave for a conference rival.It was definitely no accident that athletic director Lee Reed and school president John J. DeGioia used phrases like”brand-new period “and”brand-new chapter “when going over Cooley. DeGioia stated he thinks Cooley will”boost and restore this team “to contend at the highest levels of the sport. “He has a proven record
of success,”Reed stated.” We knew we needed a leader, someone who understood our identity and could reimagine Georgetown basketball to fit today’s special basketball landscape.”
That landscape– consisting of players having the ability to profit off using their name, image and similarity and more quickly transfer schools– features the biggest changes Cooley has seen since landing his first head-coaching job at Fairfield in 2006. He expects to be aggressive, and provided the high volume of Georgetown players reoccuring through the transfer website, could rebuild the roster in his image quicker rather than later.
“You have to discover student-athletes that fit the way you wish to play, your design of play, that fit you as a coach,” Cooley stated. “We require to find players that can bet me that can participate in Georgetown, not the other method around.”
Cooley acknowledged that some luck is required but also stressed hiring regional talent to keep the best players in the area around. That’s simply one constructing block to putting Georgetown back on the map, which Cooley wants the time and latitude to do.
“The word persistence is always hard because everybody wants it and they desire it right now,” he said. “Everyone desires it right now. Have a little bit of patience.”