When it happened no one actually had a clue how it would work out.
On March 20th, 2023 it was announced that Ed Cooley would leave Providence College after 12 seasons to coach at Georgetown University. It was the first and only time in the history of the Big East a coach left one Big East program for another. At the time the college basketball national media pundits would tell you that Georgetown, with their tradition and history, was a better job than Providence. Providence fans would chirp back whether or not that was actually the case given the Hoyas epic fall from college basketball glory, while the support and fan base of Providence had never been stronger.
Georgetown fans, for the most part, agreed with the national media and felt with Georgetown’s “war chest” of resources and Cooley’s coaching acumen the Hoyas would be back to national prominence in no time.
So, 2.5 years later, is that the case?
With Cooley taking his talents to DC Providence’s relatively newly appointed AD Steve Napolillo was put in the inevitable (and frankly unenviable) position of trying to replace him. How do you replace a guy who was second all-time in wins in school history at 246? A guy who seemingly embodied what it meant to be a Friar, a guy who took Providence to 7 NCAA Tournaments in 10 years, and a guy who in 2022 took PC to their first Sweet 16 since 1997. Ed Cooley was more than a basketball coach at Providence College: he was an ambassador for Providence College.
Napolillo would turn to a young up-and-comer in the coaching ranks in Kim English. Kim English was known as a very good assistant coach with stops at Tulsa, Colorado and Tennessee. He would then serve as head coach of George Mason for two seasons, where he went 34-29 including a 20-win campaign in his last season with the Patriots. Kim also drew rave reviews from people with ties to Providence College basketball including former PC coach and Kim’s boss at Tennessee Rick Barnes.
Providence rallied around the hire more so for the sake of sticking it to Coach Cooley and Georgetown than maybe having actual knowledge of if Kim could be successful here. For Providence fans Kim represented a young, energetic guy who could possibly connect better with players, a guy that was known as a stellar recruiter, and one who would present a more modern approach offensively. To Friar fans Kim English had an opportunity to take Providence to better heights than even Ed Cooley could.
The first season for Kim English was undoubtedly a win for the Friars over Georgetown. On January 3rd, 2024 Providence was ranked 23rd in the country at 11-3. Unfortunately that night Bryce Hopkins would tear his ACL. After four consecutive losses Providence figured out how to play on without their star forward. Providence would win 22 games that season and for Kim English it was his second 20-win season in three years as a head coach.
While Providence got snubbed with the selection committee picking six Mountain West schools to the dance, the season would objectively be defined as a success. Devin Carter won Big East Player of the Year and developed into a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, while Carter wasn’t on many mock drafts going into the season after playing for Ed Cooley. While it was disappointing they missed the tournament, Providence rewarded Kim with a contract extension and a raise that subsequent offseason.
Meanwhile in our nation’s capital it was much of the same for Georgetown when their prior coach Patrick Ewing was at the helm. Cooley led the Hoyas to a 9-23 record in his inaugural season, a two win improvement from the season prior. The Hoyas were only 2-18 in conference with their only two wins being DePaul. On top of all that their season was ended by the Friars on the Wednesday night of the Big East Tournament, the third loss the Hoyas suffered at the hands of the Friars. Yet their fan base preached patience and believed they had the right guy.
The second year for these two programs was much different. The Friars had one of their worst seasons in school history with a 12-20 record. Bryce Hopkins would only suit up for 3 games before deciding to redshirt and then ultimately transferring to conference rival St John’s. For the Friars there were portal misses, inconsistent lineups and a lot of losing. The honeymoon phase was over.
Georgetown would go 18-16 in 24-25, doubling their wins from a year ago. The Hoyas would get Ed a signature win on the road against rival Syracuse and started Big East play 3-0. It would be Georgetown who would have the lottery pick in freshman sensation Thomas Sorber. The Hoyas ultimately missed the NCAA Tournament but competed in the new postseason tournament The Crown (PC declined their invite) where they won a game before losing to eventual champion Nebraska. Georgetown wasn’t paying Cooley north of $6 million to play in The Crown, but it was a marked improvement and convinced the media that Ed made the right decision.
Which brings us to year three…
Providence and Georgetown entered the 2025-2026 campaign with plenty of hope. For the Friars it was a clean slate. They were free of the Bryce Hopkins drama and added high major portal players who were expected to improve Providence’s offense. Georgetown on the other hand made their own portal moves and returned key pieces that could build off their 18-win season. However both teams enter Saturday’s game with records of 9-10 and plenty of disappointment amongst both fan bases.
Providence fixed their offense but they continued a negative trend of their defense falling off a cliff from Kim’s first season. PC is ranked 16th in the country in points per game at 87.6 but their defense is 359th in the country allowing a putrid 86.3 ppg. Cooley’s squad were expected to be very good defensively. If their offense was respectable, it could stack plenty of wins. Instead their offense is better than expected but their defense isn’t great and they are middle of the pack in both categories.
So here is where we stand through 2.5+ seasons:
Georgetown (Cooley)– 36-49 (11-37), 0 NCAA appearances, 0 weeks ranked in Top 25
Providence (Kim)– 42-44 (18-30), 0 NCAA appearances, 1 week ranked in Top 25
With these numbers there are really no winners between the two schools. It’s been said the biggest winner in this whole saga was George Mason, who when the dominos fell ended up with Coach Tony Skinn. Coach Skinn has led the Patriots to a 18-1 start to the season.
It should be prefaced with the fact that the stories of this season aren’t fully written for Georgetown or Providence. However where we stand today it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that this could be the last time we see either coach on their respective program’s sidelines squaring off at the AMP. Time will tell if either coach gets a fourth season but both fan bases can agree that it’s been a disappointment, with patience running thin.
The lesson in all of this is that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Cooley had Providence as one of the more consistent programs in the country and he threw it all away to try and bring Georgetown back to glory. This turned out to be a task that even Ed Cooley or his media pals would admit was tougher than imagined.
One can’t help but wonder where Cooley would have taken Providence if he remained loyal to his hometown school instead of flirting midseason with the Hoyas and subsequently torpedoing that season. Cooley had Providence humming in a way fans hadn’t seen in years, and it honestly appeared the trajectory was pointed drastically upward. Unfortunately for Friar fans, we’ll never know how this would have played out.
As former Friar guard AJ Reeves once said “the grass is green where you water it”. For Friar fans we ultimately knew this back in March of 2023. Lessons have likely been learned, but will never be publicly admitted.
Go Friars.
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