Providence had a nice NCAA tourney run this month: back-to-back wins over South Dakota State and Richmond, then hung tough with #1 seed Kansas before losing by 5 PTS in the Sweet 16 in Chicago. The Friars won 27 games this year (2nd-most in school history), secured the 1st Big East regular season title in school history, and Coach Ed Cooley was named conference COY. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Providence special assistant to the head coach LaDontae Henton about being a great scorer/rebounder and returning to his alma mater.
You were born/raised in Michigan: what made you choose Providence? I was born/raised in Lansing. My college choice came down to Coach Cooley. I wanted a place with a family atmosphere and on my visit he made it feel like that. He is a man of his word.
In the 2014 NCAA tourney you had 16 PTS/11 REB but James Michael McAdoo made 2 FTs with 3.5 seconds left in a 2-PT win by North Carolina: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It is probably #1. I feel we had that game in our hands and played well enough to win it but the Tar Heels just pulled it out in the end. If we had won that game then I think we were built to make a long run that year.
In November of 2014 you scored a career-high 38 PTS/14-19 FG in win over Notre Dame: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Yes. The rim just looked like an ocean to me. We had a nice crowd and my teammates had my back: every shot felt like it was going in.
You finished that season by leading the Big East with 19.7 PPG and being named honorable mention All-American: what is the secret to being a great scorer? It is about the work you put in that nobody sees. I spent time in the gym putting up a lot of shots and my coach believed in me.
You graduated with 2059 PTS/1054 REB: how were you able to get so many rebounds despite standing 6’6”? Growing up in Lansing breeds toughness. I played against older guys so all I could do was grab rebounds and put it back in the basket.
You later played pro basketball in the G League/overseas: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball overseas? The style of play and some of the rules. Defenses in other countries are different, as well as the pace of the game, but there is not much of a drop-off in talent level.
Last July you returned to your alma mater as a special assistant to Ed Cooley: what kind of a relationship do you 2 have (after you were originally his 1st recruit at Providence)? He is like a father-figure to me and always took me under his wing. When I played for him he said that I had coaching/leadership qualities and instilled the confidence in me to come back here and coach. The timing was right and it ended up working out for the best.
The Friars were 13-13 last year but started 24-3 this year and finished with the 2nd-most wins in school history (27): how were they able to make such a huge leap in the span of 12 months? The work ethic/camaraderie of the team: they love playing with 1 another, which I think is a key to winning. I saw last summer that they lived in the gym and wanted to get better: it was contagious.
In the 2022 NCAA tourney you made the Sweet 16 before a 5-PT loss to Kansas: how close did you come to pulling off the upset, and who do you think is going to win it all next week? We were close and gave it our all. Kansas is a good team so it would look good for us if the Jayhawks won the title. I am rooting for them to win it all…but Villanova is our Big East companion so I like them as well.
How do you like coaching, and what do you hope to do in the future? I love coaching! It is more of a passion/purpose then a job. I am blessed to be able to give back to kids who had a similar upbringing to me. I will grind my way and hope to become a head coach in college someday.