Michigan Basketball: 3 reasons why Ed Cooley is a serious candidate

Cooley has won at Fairfield and Providence

When he spoke to the media for the first time, Manuel, Michigan’s athletic director talked about finding a proven coach with the experience that could essentially keep the train moving.

Michigan basketball has developed into one of the top programs in the country and with the right coach, the Wolverines should be able to keep winning, both in the Big Ten and on a national level.

With Howard, who has never been a head coach, there is some risk factor. With a guy like Cooley, you are getting a proven winner. In 13 seasons as a DI coach, he has only had three losing seasons. His first two years at Fairfield and his first season at Providence.

Eventually, he left Fairfield after back-to-back 20 win seasons and a regular-season championship. At Providence, he has reached the NCAA tournament five times and won at least 18 games seven years in a row.

It’s true that his teams have won only one NCAA game in that time period, but Providence isn’t an elite program and the consistency in which he has won there is impressive.