Ed Cooley and His Staff Have Established a "New Normal" in Providence
It was after midnight when Billy Ricci and I made our way out of the Amica Mutual Pavilion following Providence’s 73-61 upset of #4 UConn on Wednesday night.
We had just watched two plus hours of intense, throwback Big East basketball — Connecticut returning to downtown Providence for the first time in a decade with old friend Dan Hurley leading what many thought to be the best team in the country.
The Friars were simply the tougher team in the second half though. They were quicker to the ball, defended like crazy, matched the Huskies’ size and skill on the interior, and made all of the big shots in a thoroughly thrilling night at the AMP.
Following the press conferences of Hurley and Ed Cooley, Billy interviewed PC’s newest star, Bryce Hopkins, a transfer from Kentucky whose first two conference games at the AMP included a 29 point, 23 rebound night against #24 Marquette and 27 points against UConn.
With the win, the Friars improved to 5-0 in the Big East for the first time ever, extended their winning streak to eight, and sent UConn home with a loss in a game that looked like a sure thing for them back in November.
“I’m weirdly subdued,” I said to Billy as we made our way up the stairs of the near-empty arena.
Maybe I was just tired. It was beyond late and I got to the arena 90 minutes before tip.
It wasn’t that, though.
It was more about the evolving expectations as this program continues to flourish under Ed Cooley, his staff, and the administration at Providence.
PC knocking off Connecticut five or six weeks ago seemed unfathomable, but after the Friars turned their season around in December, last night’s result was pleasantly surprising, but not shocking.
This was supposed to be an angry UConn team coming in off a loss at Xavier over the weekend, but Providence was simply better when it mattered most. The Friars were the ones who came up with all the hustle plays and the timely threes as the home crowd roared in approval.
Dan Hurley’s revenge turned into the latest step forward for this Providence program.
As CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander pointed out, the Friars are 20-4 in their last 24 Big East games.
They are 27-1 in their last 28 home games.
All five starters from last year’s Big East regular season title and Sweet 16 run graduated.
Last year’s Big East Sixth Man of the Year and 2nd Team All Big East point guard, Jared Bynum, went down early against Connecticut, yet the Friars had enough to win against a top five team in the country.
They were apparently even on Good Morning America this morning per WPRI’s talented Morey Hershgordon (and an early text from my mother).
In hindsight, it’s not that I was subdued or tired or unenthusiastic. This has just all become so… normal under Ed Cooley.
During Cooley’s tenure, he and his staff first reestablished the Friar brand, and over the past year and a half they have constantly created a “new normal” in Friartown.
This was a team that six weeks ago we were all questioning, and rightfully so. Yet, perhaps no team in the country has improved in-season more than the Providence Friars have this year.
From 5-3 with questions about the roster makeup and defensive lapses, to a group that took out a pair of ranked teams at home and blasted a couple of conference opponents on the road in a span of two weeks.
Providence’s coaching staff figured it out early, its young transfers have emerged into stars in under two months, and the Friars look like they’ll be a handful in the Big East once again.
I didn’t know what Providence could do for an encore after last season.
And who knows if things will ever break in such a way that PC will reach a Final Four under Cooley.
Regardless, a decade ago, when we last saw UConn in the AMP/Dunkin Donuts Center, I wasn’t sure if we’d ever see what we are witnessing in Providence again.
The bar was raised over Cooley’s first seven years here, and we’ve spent the better part of the past twelve months talking about “the first time since” or “the first time in program history” more than I could have imagined.
It’s the new normal in Providence… and it seems to be elevating by the week.
This is your best article ever, and exactly how I’ve been feeling.
Great piece. I wonder why so many people were down on Friars given that it had a top 10 transfer pull in the off-season. I know there’s a lot left to go, but “pedigree” bias seems (I admit I’m new to CBB fandom) to rule early season rankings. Quite unfair if you ask me, and a lot of BS to have to swim through. That said, with “upsets” will come attention and the team will/should be scouted more thoroughly by upcoming opponents. Along with a lot of tough road games, it should be a tough and fun road ahead.