Not long after his Stags dropped a gut-wrenching, overtime thriller to a Yale, Head Coach Ed Cooley sat on a stairwell in the depths of Alumni Hall, his head in hands.
It was a moment of disbelief for a man who only three days prior had watched his team stand toe-to-toe with the fifth-ranked team in the nation.
The feeling slowly began to wear off, and when the head coach was finally able to reflect on the Stags’ 70-66 loss, he placed the blame solely on one person: himself.
“Coaches coach and players play and put people in a position to win basketball games,” said Cooley. “Apparently, right now I’m not doing a very good job of that.”
After an emotional victory against cross-town rival Sacred Heart University, Fairfield has stumbled in its final out-of-conference games.
The troublesome stretch for Fairfield began with a 69-64 loss to Cincinnati, whose second-half surge came after a lane violation call on the Stags.
A few days later, Fairfield fell to St. Francis, 55-51, despite storming out to an early 15-6 lead on the road.
Then came Georgetown, where the Stags responded from back-to-back losses by almost playing a perfect basketball game.
Almost.
Despite a halftime tie and keeping within one point with under seven minutes to play, Fairfield finally blinked, as the Hoyas would go on a 9-1 run to end the game.
As for the Yale game, Fairfield’s multiple chances to close out a victory in regulation left Cooley shaking his head.
“We’ve had the same script for four-straight games,” said Cooley. “Coming down the stretch, our lack of execution, our lack of understanding; what we need to do is just not there.”
On Tuesday night, the Bulldogs totaled 18 points off the Stags’ collective 16 turnovers in the game, including one in the final moments of the game on an ill-advised cross-court pass from Jon Han ’09 that sealed the Stags’ fate.
“Right now, we are not a good basketball club based on our inexperience on the floor, and it’s showing because of our turnovers,” said Cooley. “We are just not a smart basketball team.”
Despite the recent stretch of bad luck, the coach’s demeanor following a loss that he characterized as “his worst as a head coach” was not one of disappointment.
Instead, he spoke with a strong sense of determination in his voice.Cooley emphasized that the current team is still young and much more of a work-in-progress than a work of art.
“Right now, our record [2-6] is more about the coach. That’s my record,” said Cooley. “Our team record right now is 0-0 in this league [MAAC]. That’s the most important thing we have to stress to our kids.”
Anyone who knows Cooley knows the candor in his words.
While many coaches would say such things to alleviate criticism on their players, it is clear Cooley thinks that the team’s maturation starts at the top.
Cooley said, “If you’ve ever coached a sport, you don’t sleep when you lose and you don’t sleep when you win because you’re preparing for your next opponent.”
Yet, he remains optimistic that there is plenty of room for growth ahead.
“We will get better,” said Cooley. “Those mistakes these kids were making will not be made in the near future, I promise you that.”
“I’m not disappointed,” said Cooley. “Just a little down.”
If the head coach has his way, his Stags won’t be feeling down for long.
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