Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Ed Cooley has no plans of leaving his job at Georgetown for the now-vacant head coaching position at Virginia.
The Hoyas head coach spoke about rumors of him leaving for Virginia and reassured fans that Georgetown is the job for him.
“Zero truth to that… I’m where I need to be, I’m where I want to be,” he said. “I will tell you this, this will be the last college job I have. My goal is to make Georgetown basketball powerful again, inspire other people. That’s all false news, and it’s unfortunate that people jeopardize livelihoods, jeopardize people. It’s unfortunate. But Martin Luther King’s dream will protect them too. They can dream big somewhere else, but don’t dream on my dream. I’m living that dream, and it’s as a Georgetown Hoya.”
FOX College Hoops @CBBonFOX
FOX SPORTS EXCLUSIVE: <a href=”https://twitter.com/GeorgetownHoops?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@GeorgetownHoops</a> head coach Ed Cooley is not leaving for the Virginia job. <br><br>The Hoyas HC addresses the UVA rumors at Big East media days and says he is exactly where he wants to be ⤵️ <a href=”https://t.co/WoTZI0SQb3″>pic.twitter.com/WoTZI0SQb3</a>
The rumors of Cooley to Virginia sparked after former Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett announced his sudden retirement last week, less than a month before the start of the college basketball season.
Virginia will now have to conduct a swift coaching search to find a replacement for the 2024-25 season, but Cooley made it clear his name will not be in the running.
Cooley, who coached at Providence from 2011 to 2023, took over as Georgetown’s head coach ahead of last season, replacing Patrick Ewing following his firing at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season.
Cooley found little success in his first year at the helm, going 9-23, but that was to be expected after the Hoyas won just 13 games over Ewing’s last two seasons. Cooley is no stranger to rebuilding struggling programs though, as he led Providence to seven NCAA Tournaments during his time despite the Friars missing the tournament for 10 consecutive seasons before his arrival.
In his second season at Georgetown, he’s looking to take strides toward returning a historic program to a national stage, but it won’t be easy. The Hoyas lost four of their five starters from last season and will have to find production elsewhere this year.
The good news is Jayden Epps, Georgetown’s leading scorer from a year ago, is back this season. The Hoyas also have the No. 12 recruiting class for 2024, per 247Sports Composite, meaning they’ll have some solid talent to work with.
Year 2 of the Cooley era tips off on Nov. 6 with a matchup against Lehigh.