Michigan Basketball: Pros and cons of top head coach candidates

Ed Cooley

Pros: Ed Cooley has been talked about more and more in recent days and he was always a logical candidate since he has ties to Manuel from his days in the Big East at UConn. Yet, Cooley is a candidate based on merit too.

At Providence, a place where it’s tough to win, he has won 59 percent of his games. He won a Big East tournament championship and has taken them to five NCAA tournaments. Cooley also had some solid recruiting chops, landing several top-50 recruits over the years and Kris Dunn, an All-American.

Cons: The downside with Cooley is that while his teams have gotten to the NCAA tournament, they haven’t won there. He has just a 1-5 record and none of his squads have never gotten past the second round.

He’s known as a decent X’s and O’s guy and he wouldn’t be a bad hire by any means. However, he doesn’t feel like he would move the meter much. Cooley is more likely to help Michigan stay relevant, instead of helping it become more of a college hoops powerhouse.