I thought about Georgetown basketball a lot yesterday. The whole day was a huge relief. I knew all along that Cooley was the hire but you just cannot help yourself to admit that Georgetown and DeGioia could still screw this up. But regardless of the search and the rumors, they got it right.
All along I have posted that Pitino was my #1 followed by Cooley and then Shrewsberry. Any other name brought panic for me.
Now having a day to reflect I honestly feel that Cooley was the best hire over Pitino and anyone else.
In my estimation the new coach needed to:
1) Have complete autonomy in running his program while using resources put in place by the administration (i.e. break from the old guard)
2) Achieve #1 while still respecting the old guard
3) Reenergize the community
4) Re-engage the basketball alumni
5) Be here for the long haul
6) Re-validate this once behemoth of a program
7) Know how to coach
8) Know how to relate to the younger generation of players
It was going to take a special individual to accomplish all of the above and in my estimation Ed Cooley is the only one who does
1) Autonomy: pretty clear that with the building being cleaned that Cooley will have the autonomy. It also seems that Lee Reed is now there to help him as needed. I think this was going to happen for any coach
Achieved: it appears so
2) Respect the old guard: tricky one here. We all know Cooley does. Pitino would have stated he did but in reality he couldn't care less. I don't think Shrewsberry probably even knew the old guard but I'm sure there was a level of respect there considering what JT2 meant for the future of black coaches.
Achieved: yes and Cooley does it the best of the three
3) Re-energize the community: again they would all do this to some level because it's not Ewing and the old guard.
Achieved: yes but to what level. All three did this
4) Re-engage the basketball alumni: to me this is where Cooley starts to separate himself. Don't think Pitino needs to. Don't think Shrewsberry has the chops/history to. But as we all have heard that seemed to be priority #1 for Cooley and that tells me something. Knowing a few ex-players personally, I know that there are relationships with Cooley and a huge level of respect.
Achieved: already done by Cooley and to me this is so massive
5) Be here for the long haul: again this is where Cooley separates himself. This would be Pitino's swan song and where would that leave us in 3-5 years? If Shrewsberry came I could see Georgetown as a stepping stone to a true blue blood if he achieved success (side note: shouldn't DePaul be backing up the brinks truck for him?). But Cooley seemingly is in for the long haul. This was always his dream job and I think this is where he retires.
Achieved: in my opinion Cooley is the best here
6) Re-validate the program: I think all three do to some level. Lots of work to be done but I think all three would have their own levels of success.
Achieved: talking to my friends who had given up there is still trepidation but true excitement for the first time in a long while
7) Know how to coach: again all three achieve this. I've devoured Cooley coaching videos and following Georgetown over the last decade or so it's eye-opening. The man knows what he's doing and that's saying something given our history.
Achieved: in a big way. If you think logically this is the first coach in Georgetown high major history that has a P6 success story. Pops came from high school. Esh came from Pops. JT3 came from nepotism/a mid-major. Ewing came from nepotism and the lack of any knowledge in how to run a college basketball program. Cooley ticks all the boxes more efficiently than the other two. That said, I was very impressed watching Penn St and the way they played.
8) Knows how to relate to younger players. I think Cooley and Shrewsberry absolutely do and I think Pitino is such a legend the respect is sort of built in but I can't speak to the ability to relate to young recruits in the DMV
Achieved: yes. watching videos of Cooley proved this to me
Conclusion: I think for sure Pitino would have been the splashiest hire. He was the front page pic on ESPN yesterday not Cooley. He gets the social media and sports shows buzzing if he was the hire. And that lasts about 2-3 days until the work begins. And that is where Cooley shines for Georgetown. I actually think Cooley feasts in the DMV more than Pitino would have. There are so many layers to the Georgetown job but the rebranding is one of the most important. The program needs rebranding for fans, players and ex-players alike. I think Cooley achieves those three better than the other two candidates.
Now of course the results will validate or invalidate everything I've written above. But after a day's reflection, I truly believe Cooley was the best coach for this job when you take into account all factors.
All along I have posted that Pitino was my #1 followed by Cooley and then Shrewsberry. Any other name brought panic for me.
Now having a day to reflect I honestly feel that Cooley was the best hire over Pitino and anyone else.
In my estimation the new coach needed to:
1) Have complete autonomy in running his program while using resources put in place by the administration (i.e. break from the old guard)
2) Achieve #1 while still respecting the old guard
3) Reenergize the community
4) Re-engage the basketball alumni
5) Be here for the long haul
6) Re-validate this once behemoth of a program
7) Know how to coach
8) Know how to relate to the younger generation of players
It was going to take a special individual to accomplish all of the above and in my estimation Ed Cooley is the only one who does
1) Autonomy: pretty clear that with the building being cleaned that Cooley will have the autonomy. It also seems that Lee Reed is now there to help him as needed. I think this was going to happen for any coach
Achieved: it appears so
2) Respect the old guard: tricky one here. We all know Cooley does. Pitino would have stated he did but in reality he couldn't care less. I don't think Shrewsberry probably even knew the old guard but I'm sure there was a level of respect there considering what JT2 meant for the future of black coaches.
Achieved: yes and Cooley does it the best of the three
3) Re-energize the community: again they would all do this to some level because it's not Ewing and the old guard.
Achieved: yes but to what level. All three did this
4) Re-engage the basketball alumni: to me this is where Cooley starts to separate himself. Don't think Pitino needs to. Don't think Shrewsberry has the chops/history to. But as we all have heard that seemed to be priority #1 for Cooley and that tells me something. Knowing a few ex-players personally, I know that there are relationships with Cooley and a huge level of respect.
Achieved: already done by Cooley and to me this is so massive
5) Be here for the long haul: again this is where Cooley separates himself. This would be Pitino's swan song and where would that leave us in 3-5 years? If Shrewsberry came I could see Georgetown as a stepping stone to a true blue blood if he achieved success (side note: shouldn't DePaul be backing up the brinks truck for him?). But Cooley seemingly is in for the long haul. This was always his dream job and I think this is where he retires.
Achieved: in my opinion Cooley is the best here
6) Re-validate the program: I think all three do to some level. Lots of work to be done but I think all three would have their own levels of success.
Achieved: talking to my friends who had given up there is still trepidation but true excitement for the first time in a long while
7) Know how to coach: again all three achieve this. I've devoured Cooley coaching videos and following Georgetown over the last decade or so it's eye-opening. The man knows what he's doing and that's saying something given our history.
Achieved: in a big way. If you think logically this is the first coach in Georgetown high major history that has a P6 success story. Pops came from high school. Esh came from Pops. JT3 came from nepotism/a mid-major. Ewing came from nepotism and the lack of any knowledge in how to run a college basketball program. Cooley ticks all the boxes more efficiently than the other two. That said, I was very impressed watching Penn St and the way they played.
8) Knows how to relate to younger players. I think Cooley and Shrewsberry absolutely do and I think Pitino is such a legend the respect is sort of built in but I can't speak to the ability to relate to young recruits in the DMV
Achieved: yes. watching videos of Cooley proved this to me
Conclusion: I think for sure Pitino would have been the splashiest hire. He was the front page pic on ESPN yesterday not Cooley. He gets the social media and sports shows buzzing if he was the hire. And that lasts about 2-3 days until the work begins. And that is where Cooley shines for Georgetown. I actually think Cooley feasts in the DMV more than Pitino would have. There are so many layers to the Georgetown job but the rebranding is one of the most important. The program needs rebranding for fans, players and ex-players alike. I think Cooley achieves those three better than the other two candidates.
Now of course the results will validate or invalidate everything I've written above. But after a day's reflection, I truly believe Cooley was the best coach for this job when you take into account all factors.
