Georgetown hires Providence’s Ed Cooley as basketball coach

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ed Cooley is the new men’sbasketball coach at Georgetown, hired away from Big East rivalProvidence in the hopes of rebuilding a once-proud program thatdropped to new lows under former star player Patrick Ewing.

Georgetown announced the move on Monday, after Providence issueda news release saying that Cooley had resigned.

“I plan on hitting the ground running, getting to work on thecourt and cultivating relationships in and around the District,”Cooley said in a statement released by his new employer. “Acceptingthis opportunity with Georgetown is not a decision I tooklightly.”

He leaves the Friars with a 242-153 record after 12 years andseven March Madness appearances with a total of three wins in thetournament; the highlight was a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2022. Histeam went 21-12 this season, closing with four consecutive losses,including in the first round of the Big East Tournament againstConnecticut and the first round of the NCAA Tournament againstKentucky.

“Coach Cooley is a mentor to young men, and a consistent winnerwith an impressive body of work,” Georgetown athletic director LeeReed said. “His previous experience gives him an understanding ofour Jesuit values and I am confident that he is the coach to returnour program to prominence within the Big East and nationally.”

Cooley’s name was linked to the Georgetown job even asProvidence’s season was still in progress, and so he was askedafter the 61-53 defeat against Kentucky on Friday whether he wouldbe returning. The initial reply: “Next question.”

When a follow-up query came about whether there was a chancethat was his last game with the Friars, Cooley avoided a directanswer.

“There’s all kinds of rumors and speculation, and I know youguys are trying to do your job. I get it,” said Cooley, whosedaughter is a student at Georgetown. “But after a game like this, Ijust think it’s fair to talk about our players. I think it’s fairto talk about the game.”

The Hoyas will be the 53-year-old Cooley’s third team as acollege head coach; before Providence, he was at Fairfield for fiveseasons. He is the first Georgetown head coach in about ahalf-century without a direct tie to the late John Thompson Jr.,who took the job in 1972, was in charge of the team when Ewing wasa player, then was succeeded by assistant Craig Esherick, who wasfollowed by Thompson’s son, John III, who gave way to Ewing.

Ewing was fired on March 9 after going 75-109 in six seasons,13-50 over the past two. Georgetown made only one March Madnessappearance in that time, bowing out in the first round in 2021.

It was quite a difficult stretch for Ewing and the school he ledto a national championship in 1984 and helped make two other runsto the title game.

His last two contests in charge at his alma mater were a pair oflosses by a combined 72 points, one to close the regular seasonagainst Creighton and one in the Big East Tournament againstVillanova.