Providence Basketball: 10 candidates to replace Ed Cooley as head coach

Speedy Claxton

Coaching and recruiting in the Big East is no easy task these days, especially with the plethora of talent in that league these days. It’s likely that the Friars will want someone with a ton of coaching experience to take over this program, but let’s go outside the box for a minute. Let’s look at someone who may only have a few years of head coaching experience but checks other relevant boxes as well.

A former star point guard at Hofstra, Claxton played for nine seasons in the NBA and won a championship with the San Antonio Spurs. An outstanding performer as a player, he’s starting to replicate that success early in his coaching career. He spent eight years as an assistant at his alma mater before being promoted to the top job in 2021. This past year, Hofstra won the CAA regular season title and won 25 games in their finest season in recent memory, coming up just short in their conference tournament and settling for the NIT.

Claxton knows New York and the footprint of the Big East and could make waves both as a recruiter and coach for the Friars. He put Hofstra in a great position both as player and head coach in recent years, though you could argue he might not be ready to coach at a higher level after just two seasons leading a program. There’s also the question on if he’d leave his alma mater this quickly, though Providence isn’t exactly the kind of job you balk on.