Providence's Ed Cooley Named 2022 Naismith Men's Coach of the Year

Ed Cooley, who led the Providence Friars to a Big East regular-season championship and the Sweet 16, was named the Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year on Sunday.

Mark Adams of Texas Tech, Greg Gard of Wisconsin, and Tommy Lloyd of Arizona were the other finalist.

I want to thank the people who voted for us, but I think the award for the highest team is more deserving. I'm thankful for my team who worked hard this season. As the proud coach of Providence College, I know it can be done without a strong staff supporting us.

Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe and Walker Kessler were both recognized for their play on Sunday, as well as the other major award winners.

Expectations were lower going into the 2020-21 campaign than they were going into the last five years, when Providence went to five straight NCAA tournaments.

After all, it was just 13-13 overall and 9-10 in the Big East the previous season and hadn't been to the Big Dance since that stretch of five straight appearances. David Duke was an All-Big East selection.

The Friars went 27-6 overall and 14-3 in conference play to win the Big East crown.

A balanced scoring act that saw five players average between 9.9% and 13.6 points per game was key, as was the ability to come through in key moments with outcomes hanging in the balance. The team won all but three of their conference games by single digits, and three of them came in overtime.

Perhaps there was some luck involved with the close games, but the ability to coach his team in the biggest moments stood out.

The Kansas team that will play for the national championship Monday defeated the Providence team that advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 13 years.