After an unprecedented move, Ed Cooley has once again turned Georgetown into the villain of the Big East. A traitor in the eyes of Providence fans and a savior to the desperate students and fans in the DMV, Cooley’s stunning move this past offseason has certainly jolted the energy of an already loaded conference.
After being named the 19th head coach of Georgetown basketball on March 20, 2023, Ed Cooley declared in his press conference two days later, “We’re not gonna win a little, we’re gonna win a lot.” And while the Hoyas have yet to formally take the court with Cooley on the sidelines, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been winning.
Cooley & Co. have already secured commitments from three highly-touted prospects in the Class of 2024 with G Kayvaun Mulready, C Thomas Sorber, and F Caleb Williams, who is a long-awaited DMV prospect. Those three are good enough to have the Hoyas’ class ranked ninth by 247, an improvement from previous years. The staff has also made inroads with several 2025 prospects, hosting a bunch of them for unofficial and official visits, especially local recruits Cam Ward, Jordan Scott, Nyk Lewis, and Acaden Lewis. It’s rare a week goes by where you don’t see Cooley visiting a local high school or an assistant conducting in-home visits with ‘25 prospects.
Of course, high school recruiting is now only half the battle. With the rise of the portal, it’s not only recruiting college transfers, but also keeping your talent in house (**cough cough** Akok Akok). The roster left by Patrick Ewing was, let’s just say, not the best, and yet Ed Cooley’s inaugural transfer class seems primed to lead the Hoyas this season, headlined by Jayden Epps (Illinois), Ish Massoud (Kansas State), and Supreme Cook (Fairfield), who are all presumed to be starters. Epps reportedly dropped an unfathomable 46 points in a not-so-secret scrimmage against Wake Forest last weekend that saw the Hoyas win 81-77, per John Fanta.
The team’s social media presence has also grown, posting more frequently and with better-quality posts. New Social Media Coordinator and former Providence standout Kyron Cartwright has done a great job in putting out almost daily video content and sleek graphics for the team’s commitments and announcements.
The “Mic’d Up” Q&A series has been refreshing, well-designed and edited, and is giving fans a look at the players’ personalities, which we’ve hardly ever gotten in the past. The team’s accounts have also been constantly pushing students to purchase their season tickets and released my personal favorite video: asking people on the street about their opponent’s logos. If you don’t consider that good content, I don’t know what to tell you.
Another big win of the Ed Cooley Era so far has been the return of a preseason event for students on campus. On October 27, the team will host a Blue & Gray scrimmage, with free t-shirts available for students in attendance. The event, formerly branded as “Hoya Midnight Madness”, has not been held since 2019, and while COVID concerns naturally eliminated the event in 2020, there was no reason it couldn’t have been held in the last two years. Of course, the energy surrounding the program hasn’t been this bright probably since the days of Otto Porter, but that’s no excuse for why it was discontinued.
The return of the Blue & Gray scrimmage also ties into how he’s been able to meet and energize the student body. Further alluding to this in his introductory press conference, Cooley declared in Nolan Hall that he “wants to meet every student on campus.” And while it was largely seen as sentimental and matter-of-fact at the time, I genuinely think he might get there. Not long after being introduced, Cooley stopped by several accepted students’ weekend events last spring and dropped into a few random classes in the ICC. Coaches and players helped families move in during freshman move-in weekend, and set up a tent outside Harbin Hall to sell student season tickets.
For some context, last spring, I had a friend wearing an Arizona State hoodie walking around campus when Cooley stopped him and told him to wear more Georgetown gear. My friend quipped back that he needed gear like the hoodie Cooley was wearing. So what did Ed do, you ask? He pulled the hoodie off and gave it to my friend. People around campus now wonder if Henry is one of those half-dozen walk-ons that showed up this fall. He isn’t, but it’s a damn great story and just an example of how easy it is for Cooley to embed himself as a member of the campus community rather than a figurehead you see once in a blue moon.
Finally, the early returns of Cooley’s scheduling are in and they are fantastic. Cooley and new Notre Dame Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry negotiated a home-and-home series, beginning this year in South Bend with a return game in DC next fall. Additionally, as I hinted this past summer, Cooley is in the process of finalizing a home-and-home with Maryland, set to begin in the 2024-2025 season (FINALLY).
While the Hoyas don’t face a gauntlet in the nonconference slate this season, it’s understandable that Cooley would prefer to have an easier start to his tenure, especially with a roster that is largely incomplete (and not entirely his, I might add). I’m eager to see if the Syracuse game remains a priority for Cooley and Red Autry, as it’s something I don’t think anyone wants to see disappear from either team’s yearly schedule. The Hoyas will face the Orange at home on December 9 at 11:30a.m.
So look, I’m not here declaring Ed Cooley has been the next coming of Jesus Christ, but the future of the team certainly did look worse than gloomy for the past two years. After all that we’ve been through, I for one am glad to finally be seeing light at the end of the tunnel. For now, though, let’s just make sure Le Moyne doesn’t take us to overtime. I don’t need more students celebrating another nail-biting victory against an opponent half the arena didn’t know existed until tipoff. I’m looking at you, Coppin State.
The Hoyas tip off their 2023-2024 season on Tuesday, November 7 at 7:00 p.m. against Le Moyne at Capital One Arena. Free tickets for the game can be requested by filling out the Google Form here.
