Jesus Christ, Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela and Tony Stark. These are a few examples of leaders that inspired generations to believe that there is indeed light at the end of this tunnel that we call life. They rose like a phoenix from the ashes of chaos and captivated the masses in order to provoke positive change towards society. Insert Rhode Island's Messiah, the Fed Hill Angel, and the Eaton Street Saint Mr. Ed Cooley.
What this man has done in 12 years at Providence is nothing short of impressive. Cooley inherited a program that was utter garbage, and gradually brought it back into the national spotlight. His infectious personality, gritty coaching and effective recruiting helped establish a culture in Friartown which hasn't been seen since the 90's. He is 221-141 with both a Big East Tournament Title and a Big East Regular Season Title under his belt. He's lead the Friars to 6 NCAA tournament appearances which includes one trip to the sweet sixteen last season.
Now don't get me wrong, the Friars play an ugly version of basketball. Shooting becomes a problem when teams go zone, poor free throws early in games and high turnovers make Friar fan's yank their hair out. However, Cooley gets his boys to play their tails off night in and night out. Playing against the Friars is a legit street fight. Tough team defense and efficient game play in the final two minutes keeps this squad in every game. This type of game plan is extremely easy to support, and that feeling is amplified when you have Ed at the helm. "Experts" like toad boy Joe Lunardi and hater of the decade Jeff Goodman doubt Providence every season. Year after year, Cooley kindly tells them to shove it.
If you need a team to support this season, the Friar bandwagon is open for business. Remember V's down, URI can pound sand and ESPN Bracketology is the enemy.
P.S. Bet every Friar game where they are under dogs. Since 2011 (Cooley's first year), Providence is 96-70 as underdogs.
Also, the Dunkin Donut Center (I will refuse to call it the Amica Mutual Pavillion) plays You Belong with Me by Taylor Swift at the under 5 time out....And the students crush beers
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