Rothstein Files: Ed Cooley is doing his best coaching job at
Feb 27, 2017 9:09:38 GMT -5
Backcourt JOE and yankeefriar like this
Post by mikemc on Feb 27, 2017 9:09:38 GMT -5
1. Ed Cooley is doing his best coaching job at Providence
Bryce Cotton, Kris Dunn, and Ben Bentil are no longer walking through that door, but somehow the Friars are on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in four seasons.
Providence is 18-11 overall and 8-8 in Big East play following Saturday’s dramatic home victory over Marquette and could put itself in position to hear its name called on Selection Sunday if it beats DePaul at home this week and then knocks off St. John’s on the road.
How has this team gotten in this position?
Cooley.
The Rhode Island native clearly has less talent to work with than the past three seasons, but he’s turned role guys into capable players and hidden gems into guys who can fill a role.
This isn’t 2014 when Cooley gave Cotton the ball for 40 minutes and let him go.
And this also isn’t the last two seasons when Dunn had complete autonomy and ran screen and rolls with both Bentil and LaDontae Henton at will.
Instead, the Friars have one All-Big East player in Rodney Bullock (16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds) along with three proud veterans in Emmitt Holt, Kyron Cartwright, and Jalen Lindsey who all have taken a major step forward.
Holt — a junior-college transfer — who started his career at Indiana, has been enormous in terms of giving his team something on the interior post Bentil.
Providence has a resume that features only one bad loss — at DePaul — coupled with a victory over America East champion Vermont and triumphs over Xavier, Butler, Seton Hall, Marquette (twice), and Creighton on the road.
There’s enough here to get this team into the bracket, but it says here it won’t be easy.
DePaul proved last week against Georgetown that it can’t be taken for granted and the Red Storm already beat the Friars earlier this season at the Dunkin Donuts Center and have won three straight at Madison Square Garden, where they’ll host Providence next Saturday.
Cooley has had several seminal moments since returning home in 2011, but getting this group to the NCAA Tournament may usurp them all.
We’ll learn over the next six days if that’s going to be a legitimate possibility when the brackets are announced on March 12th.
www.fanragsports.com/cbb/rothstein-files-michigan-states-fab-4-rounding-form/
....gotta love friartown...
Bryce Cotton, Kris Dunn, and Ben Bentil are no longer walking through that door, but somehow the Friars are on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in four seasons.
Providence is 18-11 overall and 8-8 in Big East play following Saturday’s dramatic home victory over Marquette and could put itself in position to hear its name called on Selection Sunday if it beats DePaul at home this week and then knocks off St. John’s on the road.
How has this team gotten in this position?
Cooley.
The Rhode Island native clearly has less talent to work with than the past three seasons, but he’s turned role guys into capable players and hidden gems into guys who can fill a role.
This isn’t 2014 when Cooley gave Cotton the ball for 40 minutes and let him go.
And this also isn’t the last two seasons when Dunn had complete autonomy and ran screen and rolls with both Bentil and LaDontae Henton at will.
Instead, the Friars have one All-Big East player in Rodney Bullock (16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds) along with three proud veterans in Emmitt Holt, Kyron Cartwright, and Jalen Lindsey who all have taken a major step forward.
Holt — a junior-college transfer — who started his career at Indiana, has been enormous in terms of giving his team something on the interior post Bentil.
Providence has a resume that features only one bad loss — at DePaul — coupled with a victory over America East champion Vermont and triumphs over Xavier, Butler, Seton Hall, Marquette (twice), and Creighton on the road.
There’s enough here to get this team into the bracket, but it says here it won’t be easy.
DePaul proved last week against Georgetown that it can’t be taken for granted and the Red Storm already beat the Friars earlier this season at the Dunkin Donuts Center and have won three straight at Madison Square Garden, where they’ll host Providence next Saturday.
Cooley has had several seminal moments since returning home in 2011, but getting this group to the NCAA Tournament may usurp them all.
We’ll learn over the next six days if that’s going to be a legitimate possibility when the brackets are announced on March 12th.
www.fanragsports.com/cbb/rothstein-files-michigan-states-fab-4-rounding-form/
....gotta love friartown...