Cooley has vision for top recruits
PC coach working to bring Duke, Swider, Reeves to campus
WARWICK – Recently, Ed Cooley had three of the region’s top college basketball prospects gather at his Providence College office.
Not individually mind you, but collectively.
Sitting in the same room on PC’s campus told the three members of the Class of 2018 something. Each of them knows they’re near or at the top of the Friars’ list of recruiting targets. Based on the vibe that resonated through CCRI’s Vin Cullen Field House on Saturday night, the tenor of the get-together organized by Cooley and his staff sounds like it revolved around selling a vision to Cole Swider, A.J. Reeves, and David Duke.
Think along the lines of a package deal … Swider, Reeves, and Duke joining forces at Providence. If the notion wasn’t on their radar before the aforementioned meeting with Cooley, it’s definitely there now.
“Just seeing the type of plan they have for all three of us, it’s fun and exciting,” Reeves said after Saturday’s All About The Buckets 2K17 charity event. “It was like, ‘We can do this if we come here.’”
Added Duke, “It was cool to hear what they had to say about all three of us together. They talked about how we would play together … minutes, playing style, stuff like that.”
Making the kind of sale’s pitch that Cooley did to Swider, Reeves, and Duke holds plenty of merit. Duke is a point guard, Swider a shooting guard, and Reeves a small forward. At the moment, the Friars are in possession of six open scholarships for the 2018-19 season. Clearly there’s a need for players, hence why coveting all three makes total sense.
There’s another recruiting element in play that’s just as key as the all-forone approach that Cooley sought to impress upon Swider, Reeves, and Duke. Think along the lines of location. Swider and Duke are Rhode Island natives – Portsmouth and Providence, respectively – while Reeves hails from Roxbury, Mass.
There’s no doubt that Cooley hinted at the buzz that the three local lads would generate upon hitting the Dunkin’ Donuts Center simultaneously.
“We’ve all talked about going to PC together,” Swider said. “Coach Cooley wants all three of us. He wants to stay loyal to the local guys. It was cool to hear that.”
For the Friar basketball fans in attendance at CCRI, it must have been a treat to see Swider, Reeves, and Duke playing on the same allstar team. There were a bunch of special plays that stood out over the course of two 20-minute halves Saturday. For the purpose of taking a peak of what future Providence squads may look like, Swider in the first half tossed a nice feed to Reeves that resulted in a reverse two-handed slam dunk.
“It was cool to imagine what it would be like to play with those guys. I’ve known Cole and A.J. for a while,” Duke said.
All three are coming off strong junior seasons at their respective prep schools – Swider at St. Andrew’s in Barrington, Reeves at Newton, Mass.-based Brimmer & May School, and Duke at Cushing (Mass.) Academy. PC’s coaching staff made sure to keep close tabs on them during the winter and will undoubtedly continue to remain vigilant as the scene shifts to the AAU circuit. Duke and Reeves are teammates on Mass Rivals while Swider is with the Boston Amateur Basketball Club (BABC).
They all have plenty of Division I offers on the table. From the sound it, none of them are in a rush to commit.
“Schools are trying to pitch their best to you,” Reeves said. “At the same time, you can’t slip up and say something foolish. It’s really important to take it slow and process everything.”
“We’re all going to go where we fit the best. Personally, I’m looking for a place where I can have a great college career,” Swider said. “If Providence is the best fit, we’ll go to Providence. We’ll see.”
If Swider, Reeves, and Duke all decide to enroll at Providence, one can point to a certain March 2017 meeting called by Cooley as the primary catalyst.
A former star at Classical High before heading to the prep-school circuit, Duke was asked about being recruited by the hometown school.
“It’s cool,” he said. “PC’s a really good school, basketball-wise and academics. Everybody loves PC.”
At a time when the season of college basketball transfers is in full bloom, it’s refreshing to hear a future college contributor talk about settling a school for the long haul.
“Not only are you going to school to play basketball, but you’re going there to build your future and help solidify your brand,” Reeves said. “It’s unfortunate to see a lot of these kids transferring. In a way, it kind of shows that they didn’t pick the right school. You don’t want to have to sit out a year if you don’t have to, but that’s why picking the right school is so important.”