When the Ruane Family Development Center on the Providence College campus was first opened nearly five years ago, then-Friar athletic director Bob Driscoll told the audience he hoped one day Ed Cooley’s statue would one day join those of Dave Gavitt and Joe Mullaney outside of the state-of-the-art, on-campus basketball training facility.
That day will never come. Not after what officially transpired Monday within a wounded Friartown.
Ed Cooley committed a first. He left one Big East program as head basketball coach for another at Georgetown, a program desperately seeking relevance in a collegiate landscape that has zero to do with collegiality.
Listen live to WEEI
It’s all about business, and if that was never apparent to you, it should be now. The catch here is…it’s not all about the money, even thought Cooley’s Georgetown salary will be in excess of a reported $5 million annually, making him a national top-10 highest-paid college hoop coach. No, this move apparently has much to do with familial situations and status, and making those close to him happy.
It also has much to do with the pressure to win and becoming relevant again at a former powerhouse, and business brand, like Georgetown. The Hoyas’ program hasn’t had much relevance since the days of Allen Iverson, or even Patrick Ewing as a player before him. Recruitable athletes today don’t remember those days long gone away. They only know today. And today, Georgetown is an irrelevant mess.
But knowing of the reverence and respect Cooley holds for the late Hall of Fame coach John Thompson, Georgetown’s overtures must have tugged, at least a little, on his sense of history and pride in following his footsteps.
Those overtures, as despicable as you think they might be because of the timing, won him over. Providence Athletic Director Steve Napolillo said Sunday was the first time he had been contacted by Hoyas counterpart Lee Reed for permission to speak with Cooley. It’s hardly a believable scenario, with rumors swirling publicly from about the time the Friars played in Washington, DC in February.
What happened? A coach under contract to a conference partner, in the middle of a season that showed so much promise less than a month ago, was contacted. The season then unraveled. It wasn’t necessarily a cause, but it certainly appeared to have had an effect.
I think I might have said ‘no’ to Mr. Reed’s phone call, just out of principle. Of course, that would have set Cooley off and probably left him unhappier than he already might have been. But what choice did the PC administration have? Whatever happened to the collegiality in college? Or the respect between like institutions within a conference, the Big East, that has grown and made its mark on each member pulling together for the greater good?
It was a low blow. It was dirty. It was unseemly. It was desperate. It was tampering. And it worked. Imagine the vitriol spilling over on the sidelines at the Amica Mutual Pavilion next winter when Cooley and the Hoyas come to visit? It won’t be a comforting scene for any member of the Georgetown family, or Cooley’s.
Left at the basketball altar by a son of Friartown for a league rival – one which is inarguably in much worse shape facility-wise, and interest-wise. DC has forgotten all about ‘Hoya Paranoia.”
Yeah, that’s gotta sting. Something else is amiss.
Regardless, I have friends at Georgetown who are tremendous people. The acts of a few don’t always speak for everyone. I had the pleasure and honor of working with Coach Cooley for 12 seasons, and our relationship was always professional, and quite often very friendly and personal. But this is a business after all, something I’ve seen and learned from other coaches over 35 years of covering and following this team and athletic department.
You gotta do what you gotta do. Even if you know, deep down, you shouldn’t.
Speaking of which, loved what current AD Steve Napolillo told the media today: “This (upcoming coaching) decision will define my career. If I make the right hire I’ll be a rock star. If I don’t everyone will want me fired.”
It’s just business. And it is a little personal.
This time felt different, though. Ed Cooley is, or was, a Providence guy. One of ‘our own.’ This was his self-proclaimed dream job. Yet…nothing lasts forever. The disappointment is understandable, the hurt is palpable.
But what will be tough to work through will be the sense of betrayal – beginning with a longtime partner and fellow founding member of the Big East in Georgetown University. It’s doubtful Big East Founder Dave Gavitt would have approved. And frankly, even if it meant pulling the wool over the eyes of a rival, I’m not certain John Thompson would have approved either – as a Friar graduate himself.
The league was built on dignity and respect. The game has changed, as has the amateur sports world. There’s nothing amateur about it, and not much respectful about it these days, either. It’s big business, growing by the hour. Those that have, want more. Those that don’t have, want what the others have and will do everything they can to get it.
Those statues out in front of the Ruane Center? They’re likely to be without company for a while longer.