Georgetown Basketball: 9 candidates to replace Patrick Ewing as head coach

Ed Cooley

When a job like Georgetown opens up, you sometimes have to reach for the stars, even if that means poaching someone from your own conference. There’s no guarantee that Cooley would want to leave Providence, considering he turned down Michigan four seasons ago, but the Hoyas at least have to try and doing so is a very smart move.

Cooley is a native of Massachusetts who has built his coaching career in New England. He was an assistant for a decade under Al Skinner at Rhode Island and Boston College before beginning his own head coaching career at Fairfield in 2006. After five decent years leading the Stags, he took over at Providence and has had a prosperous 12-year stint with the Friars, taking them to six NCAA Tournaments already, including last year’s run to the Sweet Sixteen.

Cooley has shown that he can win big with the limited resources at Providence; imagine what he could do in a more basketball-rich situation like Georgetown. It’d be tough to see him abandon the Friars for a conference rival, but if the money is right then they could lure Cooley down to DC. The bottom line is that he’s been a winner at a tough job in one of the best leagues in the nation and Georgetown has seen and known that for the last decade plus.