Cooley's Subtle Shot to ACC

[redmen9194]

There have always been a bunch of coaches who I like to call Big East guys. They always talk about the conference and are great ambassadors for our league. Lavin and Wright are two of those coaches. In the past, Pitino, Boeheim and Cronin were guys who always spoke about the league. Cooley is one of the those guys too. At the very end of the Championship award ceremony the last thing he said was that it was great to play in the "greatest arena in the country". Now I may have took it wrong but it sounded like a little shot to the ACC who is seemingly coming to Brooklyn for two years. A bit of, you can come to NY, but you still don't get to play at the Garden. I love brash coaches for our league. Good stuff.

[Bill Marsh]

There have always been a bunch of coaches who I like to call Big East guys. They always talk about the conference and are great ambassadors for our league. Lavin and Wright are two of those coaches. In the past, Pitino, Boeheim and Cronin were guys who always spoke about the league. Cooley is one of the those guys too. At the very end of the Championship award ceremony the last thing he said was that it was great to play in the "greatest arena in the country". Now I may have took it wrong but it sounded like a little shot to the ACC who is seemingly coming to Brooklyn for two years. A bit of, you can come to NY, but you still don't get to play at the Garden. I love brash coaches for our league. Good stuff.

Cooley grew up a poor kid in South Providence. Like everyone else in the City of Providence, he rooted for the PC Friars. He was a Catholic college guy, playing ball at nearby Stonehill College. His coaching career took him through more Catholic colleges BC, Fairfield, and now PC. He bleeds Big East. When asked last year how long he planned to stay at PC, he said, "As long as they'll have me." I think he meant it. After last night, I think they'll be happy to have him for a very, very long time. I agree that Ed Cooley was very happy to take a shot at the ACC in order to promote the Big East.

Fans here who are new to the Big East may not understand the unique position of Providence College. When college basketball fans outside the East think of this conference, I imagine they think big cities - DC, Philadelphia, New York, and MSG. They think pro towns with the smaller universities of the BE fighting for attention. That's not Providence College. They own the City of Providence. Not the pros. Not the state university. That's why a college of 4000 students can fill up an arena that seats 12,000. PC has more in common with Creighton than it does with St. John's. Ed Cooley represents a program that takes a back seat to no one in its home town, and he expects his conference to be treated the same way.

[Wizard of Westroads]

Despite last night's loss, I love the PC program: Cooley, the dedicated fan base, and especially this group of players. Man, that's a special six. I can't tell you how sad (and delighted) I am that Cotton's career at PC is over.

[ElDonBDon]

I agree that Cooley is a true Big East dude, but I don't think he was taking a shot at the ACC. I mean, maybe he was, I don't know his intent, but many people call MSG the 'world's greatest arena' or some similar epithet.

I'm not so sure Lavin is a "true" Big East guy, however. I recall a BE coach anonymously lamenting the new league and the deal with FS1, despite the money. He said that recruits seemed to not like the fact that they would not be on ESPN. Simply put, everyone was getting their hopes up about this new league. I recall that the rumor was that the anonymous coach was Lavin. Plus, I don't know if it's the haircut, undone top buttons, or what, but the guy just reminds me of a used car dealer--his loyalties are to himself first, and himself second (maybe it's because he reminds me so much of Tom Crean). Anyway, this is based on absolutely nothing but pure speculation and superficial first impressions, so I would be willing to defer if someone has some stories/anecdotes to change my mind.

[redmen9194]

I agree that Cooley is a true Big East dude, but I don't think he was taking a shot at the ACC. I mean, maybe he was, I don't know his intent, but many people call MSG the 'world's greatest arena' or some similar epithet.

I'm not so sure Lavin is a "true" Big East guy, however. I recall a BE coach anonymously lamenting the new league and the deal with FS1, despite the money. He said that recruits seemed to not like the fact that they would not be on ESPN. Simply put, everyone was getting their hopes up about this new league. I recall that the rumor was that the anonymous coach was Lavin. Plus, I don't know if it's the haircut, undone top buttons, or what, but the guy just reminds me of a used car dealer--his loyalties are to himself first, and himself second (maybe it's because he reminds me so much of Tom Crean). Anyway, this is based on absolutely nothing but pure speculation and superficial first impressions, so I would be willing to defer if someone has some stories/anecdotes to change my mind.

It would not have been Lavin. He would rather have every game on national tv on Fox then just a third on ESPN especially since our players are from all over the country. You might not see him a lot on TV if you're not in NYC but he is a big Big East homer. Constantly talking about it being one of the top leagues in the nation. Always stumping for NCAA bids for the league. And he absolutely cares about his kids. If you heard from any of them they would tell you that. If he was only worried about himself he would have never benched Harrison last season with six games to go with the Johnnies on the bubble. When the team went to Europe over the summer, Rysheed Jordan's best friend was shot and killed in Philly. The Post had the story about how the team was out at a some outing in Italy and was having dinner when Lavin and his wife left with Jordan and walked around the city for over an hour just talking to him trying to console him. Phil Greene had a friend who was killed two seasons ago and Lavin went with him to Chicago for the funeral. If you look at some of the NYC reports on him, your opinion would change. Sometimes his coaching decisions are questionable, but he is absolutely not one of those "me first" guys. Not even close.

[XUFan09]

I question his coaching capabilities in terms of Xs and Os, but Lavin has always seemed like a great guy.

[RDinNY]

Lavin is a big proponent of the Big East. He is frequently on tv and radio in NYC promoting the league. You can question his coaching abilities but he is not the sleaze that people try to make him out to be. He cares about the BE, St. John's and his players.

[XUFan09]

Lavin is a big proponent of the Big East. He is frequently on tv and radio in NYC promoting the league. You can question his coaching abilities but he is not the sleaze that people try to make him out to be. He cares about the BE, St. John's and his players.

I'll admit he does look like a used-car salesman lol, but yeah, I've heard too much good about him on the character level. Probably one of the reasons he's a great recruiter is that he shows how much he cares for "his kids."

[Jet915]

Loving Cooley alot. Runs his team the right way with principles (as evidenced by kicking the freshmen out) and seems like an overall nice guy. Glad for the success PC has gotten this year given all the injuries.

[Omaha1]

Coach K lights up the A-10:

"I'll get in trouble probably for saying it. Like the Atlantic 10, they're a really good conference. I hear people saying there are six teams in there. Come on. I mean, they're good, but put them in our conference and go through the meat grinder that our conference has to go through. But really ... our league should get more respect. The fact that Pitt comes in here and people are saying they have to do something, come on. Come on, man. I don't get it"