Good JOB COACH COOLEY

[Backcourt JOE]

Other than being outscored in last two minutes of third night of overtime play
You did a great memorable coaching job with this team all year

SALUTE

SALUTE

SALUTE

[johnnypc]

Great game. Team showed great heart.

[themick]

Agree for the most part but had a huge problem with not playing Watson in the second half. He should’ve been in for Lindsay who is terrible all game.

[thewalk]

Not going there mick..he's our leader

[Backcourt JOE]

We went to NYC on the bubble and came within a procession of the BIG East Title

Not bad after the season we all went thur following our beloved FRIARS

[thewalk]

Got every ounce out of this group. Unfortunately for next week I think we're better off playing teams multiple times.

[rooster]

Very nice piece by Dana O'Neil in The Athletic -

By Dana O'Neil Mar 11, 2018


NEW YORK — And so it was, on March 10, 2018, the old Big East and the new were finally and perpetually connected, their fabrics fittingly stitched together by a towel. This, after all, is the league built on the backs of coaching legends known for their coaching acumen, outsized personalities and sartorial selections. Looie had his ugly sweaters, Rollie his rumpled suits and Big John his brow-mopping cloth.
To that we now add Ed Cooley’s hula skirt ingenuity, a towel emblazoned with Gatorade symbols that protected both the humility of the Providence coach and the eyes of the fans seated by the Friars' bench. At some point in the second half, Cooley felt “the great breeze in the crack,’’ the trousers of his pants torn asunder, so he grabbed the nearest thing he could find, tucking a towel into the waistband of his pants to look like something between a misplaced cape and a half peplum. At the other bench, his suit jacket still buttoned and his pocket square still perfect, Jay Wright didn’t even notice his opponent’s breezy troubles. “I never look at the other coach,’’ Wright said. “I really don’t. I love Ed Cooley. So I don’t want to … God knows what he’s doing down there.’’

What Cooley was doing was creating one half of a masterpiece, Wright adding the trim. Yes, it was Villanova that emerged as the supermodel strutting down the runway with the pretty clothes, the Wildcats’ 76-66 overtime win cementing their third Big East Tournament title in four years, solidifying their selection as a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday and continuing what has been nothing less than a merciless stranglehold on the conference.
But Providence was the overlooked seamstress, its grit and tenacity in three consecutive games finally putting an end to the comparisons of this league with that one. “Well, if there are any naysayers left out there, I hope this has satisfied them,’’ Big East commissioner Val Ackerman said. “This felt like the two leagues finally combined. Two teams, rivals, a packed house, one tough play after another. This will be part of the Big East lore, not the old Big East or the new. Just the Big East lore.’’ Providence played three games in three nights, all three going to overtime, surviving a taut game against Creighton, rallying from 17 down to beat top-seeded Xavier in the semis and matching Villanova haymaker for haymaker. The Friars pushed the Wildcats, who had essentially waltzed their way to the championship game, to near exhaustion, every run answered, every big shot matched. It was exhausting just to watch, let alone play in, flailing bodies met with held whistles.

“Tough, so tough,’’ a spent Jalen Brunson said afterward. The junior, who gutted Villanova to the win with 31 points, drove to the hoop hard and fell harder, rolling countless times into the stanchion under the basket right in front of former Villanova guard Kyle Lowry. Lowry, who defined toughness for the Wildcats, clapped approvingly. “That’s what we f- – – – – – do. That’s what we f – – – – – – do,’’ Brunson screamed into the ear of sophomore Donte DiVincenzo as he ran off the floor. And yes, this is what Villanova does, collect championships and high seeds as it is now its birthright. But this hadn’t been what Providence does. Even Cooley admitted he didn’t expect this out of his team back in September and questioned it more as the season progressed. The Friars were maddeningly inconsistent, able to beat Xavier and Villanova yet lose to DePaul.
“I said, ‘Why are we being nice to one another?'” Cooley said. “That’s not the real word. You’re going to go to work and have to deal with people you don’t like. You have to have real conversations with them. If you’re not going to live in the moment, you're not going to make it.’’

The Friars eventually came around, setting aside politeness to call each other out when needed. “It wasn’t fun, even personally for myself,’’ senior Kyron Cartwright said. “But you have to man up and be better.’’
That was how the Friars played here. Yes, they were desperate early, needing to win to solidify an NCAA bid. But once that spot was secured on Thursday, they kept fighting like someone stole their lunch money. As proud as he was, Cooley was equally crushed that his players didn’t reap the reward for the hard work, the runner-up trophy making only a brief cameo inside the locker room after the game.
If there were a trophy, though, for helping to redefine — or maybe more accurately, reclaim an old definition — a league’s identity, the Friars would take home the hardware.
“My man, this is something you dream about when you're a kid — as a player first and then when you grow up, say what do you want to do,’’ Cooley said. “If you can't enjoy this moment, win or lose, on that stage, on this day, Saturday night, you got a problem.’’
This one was, to be certain, a seam splitter.

[brutus]

Thanks rooster great writing.

[johnnypc]

Dana O'Neil is a very good writer who is unbiased. Which is probably the main reason she no longer works at ESPN.

[bigsnoop]

Dana O'Neil is the best writer in the country on college basketball (with the possible exception of CraigL79).

[FriarNut]

Mar 10, 2018 23:48:05 GMT -5 themick said:

Agree for the most part but had a huge problem with not playing Watson in the second half. He should’ve been in for Lindsay who is terrible all game.

I think going small made us quick "enough" to play with the Cats......fwiw

[Backcourt JOE]

Coach Cooley ties Coach Gavitt for most NCAA appearances by a PC Coach