Cooley: Providence Needs To Stay Positive But Be Desperate

A 1-4 start to Big East play isn’t something Providence fans are used to under Ed Cooley, at least not since the league became the current 10-team configuration before the 2013-14 season. The Friars did start Big East play 1-4 in Cooley’s first two seasons at Providence but since then the Friars have been 3-2 through their first 5 Big East games every other season under Cooley. The fanbase appears to have had a meltdown after the DePaul loss with the outburst being book-ended by the Friars dreadful loss at Boston College on December 23rd to close out non-conference play.

Before that loss at Conte Forum, Friar fans were feeling pretty good about their team’s 10-2 start and some were even looking ahead at what could be Providence’s fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, something that has never been accomplished in school history. Since that loss to the Eagles, it’s been mostly doom and gloom. Cooley realizes it, too. But he is trying to stay positive with his players. “We’re trying to keep our players up, trying to keep them positive in a little rough stretch here,” Cooley said during a Big East media conference call on Thursday. Cooley re-iterated that later on Thursday when he met with the local media before practice. “Very, very tough loss but…you’ve got to be positive, energetic and enthusiastic,” Cooley said. He continued “we have to move on [and]…find a way to get back on the winning side.”

On the positive side has been the production of junior college transfer Emmitt Holt. “We’re excited about Emmitt,” Cooley said during the Big East media conference call. Cooley elaborated by saying Holt “is a warrior [who]…plays with a lot of spirit and he’s versatile, somewhat undersized, but I just like what he brings to our program with his personality [and] work ethic.” Maybe the bottomline for Cooley? “Im so, so glad he’s in our program.”

Cooley also mentioned that there are fewer and fewer games for his team to figure themselves out. He used the words “desperation” and “urgency” during his meeting with the local media.

“There has to be a sense of desperation. There has to be a sense of urgency and our team has to be a lot more focused on the small things. We’re losing games on small details. We may not be the most talented team but…the most talented team doesn’t always win. The hungrier team, the edgier team, the underdogs really show out.” – Ed Cooley

Cooley was looking forward to returning home to the friendly confines of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center where his team has a 10-1 record this season. “Hopefully we can get a little bit of energy playing at home, a little more confident and continue to try to stay healthy,” Cooley said during the conference call. He finished by saying that he’s “excited to get back on the floor, coach our guys up and the throw the ball up on Saturday against a great Seton Hall team.”

The game against Seton Hall marks the 1/3 point in Providence’s Big East season. 2-4 is a whole lot better than 1-5 and defending home court is always important. The banged up Friars will need to get a big game from Rodney Bullock and hope they can get production from their banged up players and their freshmen. The Pirates play very physical and have one of the best big men in the conference in Angel Delgado. It will be a tall task for Providence on Saturday but Cooley is urging positive thoughts and desperate play. We’ll see how it goes when the ball goes up around noon time.

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Mike Hopkins

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