Providence is finalizing a deal to hire George Mason’s Kim English as its next head men’s basketball coach, sources tell FOX Sports.
English, 34, has spent the last two seasons at the helm of the Patriots, who he led to the program’s first 20-win campaign in six years.
A former Missouri standout who won Big 12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2012, English was a second-round draft pick to the Detroit Pistons. He averaged 2.9 points in 41 games across the 2012-13 campaign, his lone season in the NBA.
Sources tell FOX Sports that former Providence head coach and current Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes played a key role in the decision by Providence Athletic Director Steve Napolillo to hire English, who has had stops as an assistant at Tulsa (2015-17), Colorado (2017-19) and the Volunteers (2019-21).
Napolillo and his circle wasted no time in hiring a head coach following Ed Cooley’s departure from the Friars to fellow Big East member Georgetown, which became official on Monday.
Sources around the Providence program said leadership was impressed with English’s recruiting acumen, and the prospect of hiring one of the industry’s rising stars.
English will be the third hire made in the Big East in what has been an active week for the league. Hall of Famer Rick Pitino was introduced by St. John’s as the Red Storm’s new head coach on Tuesday, while Cooley is being introduced at Georgetown on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Big East has seen three of its members — UConn, Creighton and Xavier — advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which resumes on Thursday.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.
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