Big East Basketball

Providence men's basketball coach Ed Cooley will remain at the program, agreeing to a contract extension Tuesday after taking a meeting with the University of Michigan. 

"While it's very flattering to be considered for other head-coaching jobs, after talking with my family I have decided to remain in my hometown of Providence," Cooley said in a statement. "The Friars are my family. Most importantly, my commitment is to my players and my team at Providence."

Cooley, 49, has been the head coach at Providence for the last eight seasons. He's compiled a 162-110 record, leading the Friars to five NCAA tournament appearances.

Michigan met with Cooley on Monday during its search to replace John Beilein, who left the school to take the Cleveland Cavaliers' coaching job earlier this month.

"We are excited to announce that Ed Cooley will continue to lead our men's basketball program," athletic director Bob Driscoll said. "We believe that Ed is one of the top of coaches in the country."

The Wolverines could turn their attention to Juwan Howard, the longtime NBA veteran who has been an assistant coach with the Miami Heat since his retirement as a player in 2013. Howard was a member of Michigan's Fab Five and played at the school from 1991 to 1994. He's also received endorsements from a number of his former teammates.

Jalen Rose said on his ESPN Radio show (via Orion Sang of the Detroit Free Press):

"Okay, this ain't just no nostalgic, 'Oh, he was a member of the Fab Five, so let's give him the job.' He was a terrific high school player, McDonald's All-American, he's a terrific performer at Michigan, a member of the Fab Five, he was an All-Star in the NBA, he was a champion, he's not only learned under some of the best to do it, Erik Spoelstra, Pat Riley, he also has the blessing of John Beilein, who he spent a lot of time with, of Steve Fisher, who he spent a lot of time with.

"He's also a (Jordan Brand) athlete, and that's the shoe that the school actually wears! This is such a layup! If Juwan Howard doesn't get that job, I'm not going to even make any blanket statements of how that's going to make me feel."

"All we need is to hire Juwan so we can take (Michigan State) out," Chris Webber said on a TNT broadcast. "... It would be great for the whole university," Webber said. "It would bring everybody back together."

While Michigan's relationship with the Fab Five is checkered—the university had to forfeit nearly all of its accomplishments from that era due to players being paid—things have improved in recent years. Hiring Howard would arguably bring everything full circle and allow the wounds to fully heal after more than two decades.

Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski has received a contract extension that runs through the 2023-24 season, the team announced Monday. 

The 42-year-old was previously signed through the 2021-22 season after agreeing to an extension in 2015, but he now goes into next season with five years secured under contract.

Wojciechowski is coming off his fifth season with Marquette after a long time at Duke as both a player and assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski. 

While he is 97-69 overall in his time with the Golden Eagles, he has been even better after a rough first season with the team with at least 19 wins in each of the last four years. The squad reached the NCAA tournament in 2018-19 for the second time under the coach, although the No. 5 seed was eliminated in Round 1 by Ja Morant and Murray State.

Still, Director of Athletics Bill Scholl believes in what the coach is building going forward:

"We are excited about the direction of our program and the progress it has made, both on and off the court, during Steve's tenure. If you look at where the program was when he took over, it's easy to see we are on the right path in terms of competitive success and what our players are accomplishing in the classroom and contributing in the community.

"The basketball program at Marquette is absolutely trending in the right direction, particularly evident the last three seasons as one of the top teams in the Big East, and we are confident that will continue as we begin a new five-year commitment to Steve."

Next season is certainly an important one for the Golden Eagles, as expectations are high with All-American Markus Howard returning for his senior season. 

Jeff Borzello of ESPN ranked the team No. 2 in the country in his early Top 25 for 2019-20.

On the other hand, this was before Sam and Joey Hauser announced their intentions to transfer, taking away two top contributors from the starting lineup.

Despite the question marks, Marquette clearly likes what it has in Wojciechowski and believes he will lead the team where it needs to be.

The St. John's Red Storm have their new head men's basketball coach.

On Friday, the Big East team announced it hired Mike Anderson. 

"My family and I are extremely excited to join the St. John's University community," Anderson said in the announcement. "This basketball program is rooted with such great tradition and it has a history built by legendary coaches, so this is a humbling experience. I look forward to mentoring the young men who will represent St. John's proudly on the court, in the classroom and in our community."

"We’re going to pick them up when they get off the bus," Anderson said Friday, per Adam Zagoria of SNY. "We’re going to press, press, press. You’re going to see a team that’s very entertaining. We’re going to play exciting basketball for two hours" 

This comes after Chris Mullin announced he stepped down from the position in a release on April 9. The Hall of Famer led his alma mater for four seasons and finished with a 59-73 overall record. While the Red Storm finished with a losing record in his first three campaigns, they reached the NCAA tournament in 2019.

Arizona State eliminated Mullin's team in the First Four, capping off a season that saw St. John's finish 9-13 in its final 22 games after a 12-0 start.

The team also went through something of a debacle during the hiring process, as Gary Parrish of CBS Sports highlighted:

Anderson inherits a difficult situation after Mullin's departure for a number of reasons.

Zach Braziller of the New York Post reported junior college prospect Cam Mack asked for a release from his National Letter of Intent, citing the departure of primary recruiter Matt Abdelmassih. Abdelmassih joined the Nebraska Cornhuskers, which means St. John's is now without Mack and one of its top recruiters.

Elsewhere, Shamorie Ponds declared for the NBA draft after he averaged 19.7 points, 5.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game in 2018-19. He led the Red Storm in all those categories but rebounding and was the primary facilitator, go-to playmaker in crunch time and engine who made the offense go.

Mack figured to be a natural replacement for him, but he will no longer join the roster.

There aren't many reinforcements, either, as the Red Storm's 2019 recruiting class was a mere 99th in the country, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Anderson faces an uphill climb leading a program that has been to the NCAA tournament just three times since the 2001-02 season. Its last Sweet 16 came back in 1999, and the leading scorer is gone without a notable recruiting class arriving.

It is fair to temper expectations in the immediate future, but the Red Storm surely hope to compete for Big East championships down the line following this hire.

Fortunately for them, Anderson is a proven program builder. His first head coaching job was at UAB for four seasons from 2002 through 2006, and he led the Blazers to three straight NCAA tournament appearances for the first time since the 1980's.

He then spent five years at Missouri, reaching the Big Dance three times and advancing as far as the Elite Eight, and he has been with Arkansas the past eight seasons. The Razorbacks have been to the NCAA tournament in three of the last five years.  

Hours after Iona University's Tim Cluess withdrew himself from consideration to become the new head coach of the St. John's men's basketball team, someone else has reportedly emerged as the eye of the Red Storm's extensive search.

CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported Thursday night that former Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson is finalizing details to become the new head coach of St. John's. Rothstein added St. John's hopes to officially announce the Anderson hire Friday.

Anderson was fired by Arkansas on March 26 after eight seasons in Fayetteville. While there, he posted a record above .500 in each of his seasons (169-102 overall), but the Razorbacks' 18-16 2018 campaign was seen as a disappointment.

Prior to arriving at Arkansas, Anderson coached from 2006-11 at Missouri (111-57) and at Alabama-Birmingham from 2002-06 (89-41). 

Across his 17-year coaching career, Anderson-coached squads have made nine NCAA tournament appearances, three trips for each program. The 2008-09 Missouri Tigers made it to the Elite Eight under Anderson, while Arkansas never made it beyond the opening weekend. 

One prominent college basketball voice did not see the Anderson hiring coming:

Goodman and his source aren't alone in that thinking as St. John's was linked to several names prior to Anderson coming out of what seems to be nowhere.

St. John's began searching for a new head coach when Chris Mullin stepped down April 9 after four seasons with the Red Storm, whose 2018-19 ended by losing in the First Four to Arizona State. Then, ironically, Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley's name was floated around as a favorite for St. John's.

Hurley dispelled those rumors on April 11 when he announced he was working toward an extension to stay at Arizona State. St. John's booster Mike Repole is displeased with St. John's letting Hurley get away and held nothing back when appearing with Mike Francesa on WFAN on Thursday (h/t AZCentral): 

"[They] decided to get cheap. Don’t tell me Bobby Hurley—his parents live in New Jersey, his wife’s parents live in New Jersey, he makes $2.5 million dollars a year. ... You go there and you say get Bobby Hurley, I don’t care if it costs you $3 million, $3.5 or $4 million.

[...]

"This is St. John’s. We have Madison Square Garden. Pay $3-$4 million and get yourself a coach that’s going to win."

Once Hurley was out of the question, Cluess was seen as the favorite to be named the university's next head coach. However, Cluess released a statement in which he reiterated he loves what he has at Iona. 

Anderson's contract details have yet to be revealed.

Iona head men's basketball coach Tim Cluess turned down an offer to be the next head coach at St. John's on Thursday.

According to ESPN.com, Cluess said the following regarding his decision to stay at Iona rather than making the move to his alma mater:

"I would like to start by thanking everyone for all their support. I am truly blessed to have so many people say so many nice things. I am however taking my name out of consideration for the St. John's job.

"When I was unexpectedly contacted by them last week it opened up a flood of emotions. For those of you who have ever lost a loved one you know that there are special places, trinkets and memories that keep them alive in your heart and soul. St. John's was one of those key places where my love for family has been a part of my life since my earliest memories.

"In my heart the thought of reestablishing the connection to my brothers Kevin and Greg through the possible opportunity to coach at St. John's and the chance to help bring back their rich tradition in the process made it hard to walk away from. There comes a point where the reality of the situation becomes more clear and moving forward is what is needed.

"I love my players at Iona and being a coach there and I am truly blessed to be able to do what I love at a place I love. I look forward to continuing to grow the Iona program to higher levels."

Since Chris Mullin stepped down as the head coach at St. John's last week, three coaches are known to have turned down the opportunity to succeed him.

In addition to Cluess, both Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley and Loyola-Chicago head coach Porter Moser declined to take the vacant position.

The 60-year-old Cluess is a Queens, New York, native who played at St. John's from 1979 to 1981 before he transferred to Hofstra.

Cluess' brothers, Greg and Kevin, both played at St. John's as well. Greg died of lymphoma at age 26 in 1976, and Kevin was 33 when he died of leukemia in 1986.

For the past nine seasons, Cluess has been the head coach at Iona. He owns a 199-108 record with four Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season championships and five MAAC tournament championships.

The Gaels have made six NCAA tournament appearances, two trips to the NIT and one trip to the CIT during Cluess' tenure. They have qualified for the NCAA tournament in each of the past four seasons and have not finished with a record worse than 17-16 under him.

While Iona has yet to win an NCAA tournament game with Cluess at the helm, few small-conference teams have gone to the tourney as regularly as the Gaels have during his time with the program.

St. John's has somewhat surprisingly proved to be a difficult job to sell candidates on. That is despite the fact that the Red Storm went 21-13 and reached the NCAA tournament last season.

The Red Storm finished below .500 in each of the previous two seasons, though, and went just 59-73 under Mullin.

Marquette forwards Sam and Joey Hauser announced Monday they plan to transfer out of the basketball program:

The school and head coach Steve Wojciechowski released a statement on the transfers, per Matt Norlander of CBS Sports:

Sam Hauser was heading into his senior season after three years with the program, while Joey just completed his freshman year. They plan to leave Marquette at the end of the semester.

This will be a significant loss for a program with high expectations heading into next season.

Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com ranked the Golden Eagles as the No. 2 team in his early Top 25 for 2019-20 behind only Michigan State.

Markus Howard will return after averaging 25 points per game last season, but the Hauser brothers represented the team's second- and third-leading scorers as well as the top two rebounders.

Sam finished the year averaging 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, earning him a spot on the All-Big East second team. Joey was named to the conference's All-Freshman team after averaging 9.7 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Losing these impact players will damage Marquette's hopes of building on a 24-10 season. Theo John will need to take on a bigger role in the frontcourt, while incoming transfer Koby McEwen will try to provide some scoring depth behind Howard.

Whichever school lands the Hausers, meanwhile, will get a huge boost when they are eligible.

Coming off his best season at Marquette, Markus Howard will continue his development on and off the court next season by returning to school.

Howard announced on Twitter he would be back with the Golden Eagles for his senior season:

Howard going back to Marquette isn't a huge surprise because his NBA draft prospects didn't appear to be very high. 

Prior to the start of the 2018-19 season, B/R's Jonathan Wasserman cited Howard's 5'11" frame and lack of athleticism as reasons to be skeptical of him as an NBA player. 

"His best chance to make an NBA roster will be as a scoring-spark specialist like Yogi Ferrell," Wasserman wrote.

Wasserman didn't include Howard among the top 75 NBA draft prospects last month. 

Rather than risk the uncertainty of professional basketball, Howard will remain with a team he knows well and is going to have high expectations in 2019-20. Marquette went 24-10 this season and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament before being upset by Murray State. 

Howard averaged a career-high 25.0 points, 3.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game as a junior. He was named the 2018-19 Big East Player of the Year and is among the 15 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as the nation's most outstanding player. 

Chris Mullin announced he has stepped down as head coach of the St. John's men's basketball team on Tuesday.

"The past four years at St. John's University has been one of the most thrilling and challenging points of my career," said Mullin in a release. "Today, I have chosen to ask President Gempesaw and the University to accept my decision to step down from coaching the St. John's men's basketball team."

"This has been an extremely emotional decision, but after a recent personal loss, I took time to reflect upon my true values and believe this is the right time to make a change. I am extremely grateful to the administration, which has supported me and our basketball program on every level.

"I've been amazed by our coaches, trainers, managers and staff who work relentless hours, which enables this team to grow and thrive. I've been honored to coach the young men and who are the heart and soul of this program. It's a job I will always cherish."

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports first reported the news on Monday. 

The coach is coming off his fourth season in charge of the Big East team and produced a 59-73 overall record. He led the squad to a 21-13 record in 2018-19, which was good enough to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since he took over.

While it was an improvement over three straight losing seasons, the Red Storm were still among the last at-large teams in the field. They were then eliminated in embarrassing fashion in the First Four, failing to advance to the round of 64.

The squad also finished the year just 9-13 in its last 22 games, with one win in the final six games.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium discussed the team's struggles:

With leading scorer Shamorie Ponds declaring for the draft and key recruit Cam Mack decommitting from the school, there isn't much excitement heading into next season.

Mullin was a Hall of Fame player who starred at St. John's before his 16-year NBA career, but his lack of coaching experience remained an issue in his latest role.

Per Rothstein, Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley is a top candidate to become the next head coach for the Red Storm.

Villanova men's basketball coach Jay Wright announced Wednesday that guard Jahvon Quinerly is going to leave the Wildcats after one season.

"We had a very candid meeting, and Jahvon has decided to transfer to another program," Wright said. "We'll miss Jahvon. He's been an outstanding teammate and was an integral part of our success last season. We wish him the best as he approaches the next step in his basketball career."

Quinerly was a 5-star prospect and the No. 29 overall recruit when he committed to Nova as part of its 2018 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. He played a limited role as a freshman, though.

The 20-year-old New Jersey native averaged just 9.1 minutes across 25 appearances for the Wildcats. The 6'1", 175-pound guard put up 3.2 points, 0.9 assists and 0.8 rebounds per game while shooting 33.7 percent from the field.

His last appearance came March 2 in a 75-54 victory over the Butler Bulldogs. He didn't play in the Big East or NCAA tournaments.

After generating headlines in December for an Instagram post with the caption of "Was my 2nd choice for a reason," he said in January he wasn't considering a transfer, per Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Daily News:

"I want to say I didn't understand why I [wasn't] playing at first. That's why it was so hard. I thought preseason went well so … I was kind of like, how can I say it? I was blindsided that I wasn't playing. That's how I'll put it.

"It was definitely hard, but I'm never the type to give up on something. All the rumors about 'he's going to transfer' and all that, that was never really the case. I was never the type to quit on something, so I just knew that this was the situation I'm in, this is the school I chose, this was the school that me and my family knew was comfortable for me, so I've just got to keep fighting through this."

Quinerly first committed to the Arizona Wildcats in August 2017. Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com reported the guard reopened his recruitment after an FBI investigation discovered evidence former Zona assistant Emanuel "Book" Richardson provided him with impermissible benefits.

He went on to choose Villanova over the Oklahoma Sooners.

Now Quinerly will enter the NCAA transfer portal with the hope of finding a program where he'll have a more consistent chance to showcase his potential.

The sixth-seeded Villanova Wildcats' title defense remains on course after the defending champions defeated the 11th-seeded Saint Mary's Gaels 61-57 on Thursday in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA men's basketball tournament in Hartford, Connecticut.

Phil Booth finished with 20 points and six assists in the win, while Eric Paschall chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds.

Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts—36.6 combined points per game—were big reasons for Saint Mary's regular-season success and West Coast Conference tournament title. Together they had 26 points on 11-of-28 shooting for the Gaels.

Wildcats Can Make Tourney Run Behind Stingy Defense, Controlled Pace

Last year, Villanova led the nation in scoring, averaging 87.1 points per game, and sat first in adjusted offense on KenPom.com. The Wildcats offense has taken a step backward this season, which isn't all that surprising for a team that lost Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Omari Spellman and Donte DiVincenzo.

Villanova entered the tournament 16th in adjusted offense and averaging 74.5 points per game. Not coincidentally, the Wildcats also dropped from 150th to 333rd in adjusted tempo.

Although it's not a lot of fun to watch, winning ugly should be Jay Wright's blueprint over the remainder of the Big Dance.

Saint Mary's shot 41.8 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc. Villanova, on the other hand, shot an efficient 49.0 percent and went 8-of-20 (40 percent) from the perimeter.

The Wildcats looked a bit sluggish in the first half and trailed 30-28. They were a different team in the second half, especially down the stretch. Every time Saint Mary's looked like it was starting to build momentum, Villanova got a critical bucket.

Jordan Hunter scored to bring the Gaels to within six points, 50-44, with 6:48 left in the game, and Tommy Kuhse followed up with a three-pointer to make it a three-point game at the 6:00 mark. Villanova held Saint Mary's to two points over the next four minutes, during which time its lead grew to eight points, 57-49. 

Beyond that, the Wildcats showed the poise of a team in which most of the roster experienced the disappointment of a second-round exit in 2017 and then the euphoria of a national championship in 2018. They committed only seven turnovers and seven personal fouls.

Booth and Paschall in particular were unflappable, which is exactly what Wright will have wanted to see from two of his seniors.

The deeper Villanova gets into the tournament, the more its lack of elite talent will be a problem. The Wildcats are less than two weeks removed from a 79-75 defeat to Seton Hall, their fourth in six games to wrap up the regular season.

At this point, though, nobody should bet against Wright to get the most out of his players and grind out hard-earned wins.

What's Next?

Villanova will meet the winner of No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 14 Old Dominion. The Monarchs reached the Big Dance after winning the Conference USA tournament, while the Boilermakers may still be smarting from their upset loss at the hands of Minnesota in the Big Ten quarterfinals.