Archie Miller, Ed Cooley Talk Close Relationship Ahead of Indiana-Providence Matchup

Archie Miller and Ed Cooley have a close relationship with one another and will square off Monday in the Maui Invitational as Indiana takes on Providence.

Dylan Wallace | Nov 30, 2020

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Back in 2015, Archie Miller and Ed Cooley were teaming up on the sidelines, both serving as assistant coaches for Team USA’s under-19 World Championship team.

That team was headlined by players such as Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles, and Jalen Brunson, and they ended up taking home the gold with an overtime win over Croatia.

The head coach of that team was Archie's brother, Sean, and ever since, Cooley has remained close with both of them.

“Archie and I have a brother-brother relationship. We’re very, very close. We’ve been fortunate to win a gold medal in Crete, Greece, where we spent four weeks together,” Cooley said Friday. “We’ve spent time talking on the phone. We’ve spent time talking family, we’ve spent time talking life, we’ve spent time talking basketball. I think he’s one of the brighter young coaches in America. Indiana’s very fortunate to have him.”

Monday's first-round game in the Maui Invitational will be just the second time Indiana and Providence have played one another.

In the only meeting between the two programs, the Hoosiers defeated the Friars, 97-79, in the NCAA Tournament in St. Louis on March 26, 1973.

But, this won't be the first time Miller and Cooley have squared off as head coaches.

Also in 2015, when Miller was the head coach at Dayton, he led the 11-seeded Flyers to a first-round upset over Cooley's sixth-seeded Friars in the NCAA Tournament. It was a team that was led by NBA guard Kris Dunn.

But both coaches have two very different teams now. Miller believes Providence is one of the top teams in the Big East.

"I know coach Cooley well, and I know he thinks his team can win the Big East," Miller said after Indiana's win over Tennessee Tech. "Big strong, physical, talented team. Maybe playing one of the best teams in the field on the first game."

Both teams are heading into Maui with a 1-0 record. Indiana defeated Tennessee Tech 89-59, and Providence defeated Fairfield 97-56.

Both the Hoosiers (48) and the Friars (9) received votes in the Associated Press top-25 poll to be ranked.

Providence's two best players are center Nate Watson, who Joey Brunk played against when he was at Butler, and guard David Duke.

Watson had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the season-opener, while Duke finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Cooley wants Duke to be aggressive against a defensively-sound Indiana group on the perimeter.

"I want David to believe he's dominant," Cooley said. "He's such a good kid. He's a physical specimen, he's worked on his decision making, his ball handling, his mid-range, finishing at the basket, his conditioning. I mean he's in really, really good shape... with him off the floor, we're a different team."

Both Miller and Cooley have a tremendous amount of respect for one another, and both of them have a similar defensive mindset.

Miller is used to playing tough competition being in the Big Ten conference, and the same goes for Cooley in the Big East. He knows Indiana will be a tough test right out of the gates for his team.

"We're used to playing with teams like Indiana," Cooley said. "When you play in the Big East there's never a night off, so the players that have been here are accustomed to the level of play. It's unfortunate that it's a little bit earlier this year and we have only one game under our belt. It will be a totally different game than it was the other day."

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