Once again, the Friars are hosting the UConn Huskies at the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Saturday at noon on CBS. This season has not gone the way either team expected, but it is a game that matters greatly to both schools’ fan bases. The Boneyarders are fond of saying that the Friars are not a rival for them, and they make this point dozens of times in nearly every post on their board about the Big East. Obviously, with six national championships in the last 25 years, no one except North Carolina and maybe Duke and Kansas can compete with that level of success. However, in the same manner in which the Red Sox and Yankees are rivals despite the disparity in World Series championships and Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have been football rivals despite the Sooners leading the series 91-20, the Huskies and Friars are rivals.
The thing that makes these two schools unique in the Big East is that the college basketball teams are the most important teams in their states, and the basketball coaches are the most recognizable sports figures in their states. With the other schools in the league, the professional teams in multiple sports are the priority. The only other school that is in a state without pro sports is Creighton, but they are still a distant second at home to Nebraska football. This means that the teams and coaches have outsized importance and responsibilities at home. How they handle this is a major factor in how they are viewed and how fans feel about them when things are not working out. Both schools have given us good and bad examples in how to handle the pressure that comes with their positions.
Going back to the 1980s, Rick Pitino owned Rhode Island during his two years in Friartown. He embraced everything about the state and constantly met with supporters anywhere to reinvigorate the PC brand that had been tarnished since the departure of the legendary Dave Gavitt seven years earlier. The fact that most Friars fans at this time were of Irish and/or Italian heritage, the pairing of Coach Pitino with star guard Billy Donovan made the team even more popular. Unfortunately, the love affair only lasted two years, as Pitino left for the New York Knicks and was replaced by Gordie Chiesa. Chiesa was a basketball lifer, becoming head coach of Division 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (his alma mater) at age 24. After four years as head coach of Manhattan, he joined Pitino in Providence and because of the timing of Pitino’s departure, he was the obvious choice to take over as head coach. Chiesa knew the game in and out, as evidenced by his lengthy career as an NBA assistant after his brief tenure in Friartown. A major part of the problem was the way he dealt with his players. Another problem was his unwillingness to engage with fans and boosters. Perhaps had he built up a better rapport with Friar supporters he would have gotten a second year. Instead, he had a losing record and no support, so he was fired after a single season.
A year after the Friars hired Rick Pitino, UConn was searching for a new coach. The story was that Gavitt recommended two names to then Friar Athletic Director Lou Lamoriello: Rick Pitino and Jim Calhoun. When UConn needed a leader, Gavitt recommended Calhoun. Befitting his upbringing outside Boston, Calhoun adopted an us-against-the-world attitude with the Huskies. With slow and steady progress, the UConn fan base consistently grew and then exploded after an elite eight run in year four. Despite consistent success in the 1990s, culminating in a 1999 NCAA championship, Calhoun never changed his persona, always pushing the idea that his teams deserved more respect, and the Husky fans and media ate it up. He later added a second and third national championship before retiring. This led any Husky fans to complain that their Hall of Fame coach was somehow underrated, showing how ingrained Calhoun’s imprint on the program had become.
As Calhoun’s career was reaching its conclusion, the Friars were bringing home local son Ed Cooley to replace Keno Davis. Davis was the epitome of a person who never appreciated the importance of the Friars here in Rhode Island and had a personality that can most charitably be described as dour. The first time I met him and tried to have a conversation with him was also the last time I tried to have a conversation with him. In addition to his lack of charm, the program became an embarrassment, with multiple assaults and arrests, and the star player getting dismissed from the team for possibly illegal activities with prospective (underaged) recruits.
After this debacle, Ed Cooley was a breath of fresh air, promising to win and win big, reminiscent of the words uttered by Rick Pitino a quarter century earlier. Despite an initial season that produced a 4-14 conference record (15-17 overall), there was finally optimism coming back to Friartown. Bryce Cotton made an enormous leap in play, something he repeated for the next two years, and freshman Ladontae Henton was one of the top newcomers in the Big East. Additionally, Ed brought in a pair of elite recruits in Kris Dunn and Ricky Ledo. The following season saw the ineligibility of Ledo and a delayed appearance from Dunn due to injury. Despite this, the Friars were on the fringe of NCAA tournament consideration up until the final game of the regular season, an overtime loss to Connecticut. The Friars settled for an NIT bid, and the team received a standing ovation after the final NIT win at the Dunk. The next year led to a Big East Tournament championship, starting a streak of eight NCAA tournaments and one NIT teams in ten years, including the cancelled tournament of 2020. We all know this ends, so I’ll spare us.
While the Friars were coming back, the UConn Huskies were struggling under coach Kevin Ollie, despite winning the fourth national championship in 2014. Even though Ollie was loved as an alumnus when he was hired, his personality caused friction with the fan base and the administration. All it took was two mediocre but not awful seasons to cause the school to search for a reason to replace him. The Huskies did not look far, bringing in Dan Hurley from neighboring Kingston, Rhode Island. In addition to doing an outstanding job as coach, Hurley has taken a page out of Jim Calhoun’s book of recreating the us-against-the-world mentality. Hurley’s first two years at Connecticut mirrored Cooley’s start at the greatest school in America, with a tough first year followed by an improved second year, then back to the NCAA tournament in year three. During this period, he made his often-repeated comment, “you better get us now.” Unlike most others, he meant it with back-to-back national championships in years five and six. He has also used the “In the Huddle” moments on Fox telecasts to fire up the fans as much as his team, and it works for him.
Hurley was heading to his first national championship in 2023, and Ed Cooley followed his end of season collapse with an NCAA tournament loss to Kentucky by leaving for browner pastures. The Friar fan base rosied up against him, mainly for the manner in which he left, and was ready to rally around a new coach. As Vice President of Athletics had the introduction of Coach Kim English and Coach Erin Batth for the men’s and women’s teams, Alumni Hall was filled with students and supporters, including your intrepid correspondent. Coach Batth fired up the crowd, then Coach English gave the best speech of his Friar career. The optimism was flowing throughout the building, and season ticket sales reached record levels. English managed to keep the team together despite an injury to Bryce Hopkins in his initial season, with huge assists to Big East Player of the Year Devin Carter and Josh Oduro. This season has been more difficult, as the team struggled early without Hopkins, then had him for only three games before another injury ended his season. The season has gone from bad to worse with lengthy injury absences to Corey Floyd, Wesley Cardet, Christ Essandoko, Rich Barron, Jabri Abdur-Rahim, and Eli DeLaurier. The Friars have tried to remain competitive and were until their last two games when they struggled greatly.
The question is how much goodwill Coach English has in reserve to get through this period. My view from the outside is that Kim is highly intelligent and very hard-working and wants nothing more than to win here. The concern I have is that he does not seem to embrace the other parts of being the coach at Providence College and the most famous employee in the state. His press conferences are often painful to watch, and his appearances on his radio shows on WPRO give listeners the impression that he would rather be having teeth removed than being a part of these shows. Additionally, I spoke recently to someone working at one of the Friars basketball team’s biggest sponsors. As is often the case, I was wearing PC apparel and we began to discuss the team. The person volunteered that Ed Cooley used to stop by every few weeks just to talk with people and thank them for their support. He followed this by noting that Coach English came by once when he was first hired and hasn’t been back since. This may not seem like a big deal compared to his other responsibilities but financial support is more important than ever, and when things are not as successful as we would like, it is easier for sponsors who have lost their personal connection to walk away.
Kim English is the eleventh Friars coach since I have been following the team, and I want nothing more than to see him succeed. A failure here will make the job more difficult for the next coach and potentially set the program back. No one can question his work ethic and dedication to the program. I also believe that Providence College has provided him with the financial and facility resources necessary for sustained success. The best way to keep those resources flowing is to win and to show appreciation to those who are invested in the program. I hope this is the path forward for the team.
Go Friars.
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