Providence hires George Mason's Kim English as next men's basketball coach

Providence has hired Kim English as their next head coach, the school announced Thursday. English spent the last two seasons at George Mason and will replace Ed Cooley, who left to accept the Georgetown job.

According to ESPN, English will get a six-year contract. This season, English led George Mason to a 20-13 record. The Patriots averaged 68.7 points per game and had four double-digit scorers.

English went 34-29 at George Mason. He emerged as a viable candidate after leading the Patriots on a six-game winning streak late in the season. The streak included wins against Dayton and Fordham ahead of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.

"Today, we begin a new era in the proud history of Providence College basketball," athletics director Steve Napolillo said in a news release. "As I was looking for a new head coach, I consulted some of the most knowledgeable people in the game, including Mike Tranghese and Rick Barnes. I wanted to find an individual who represented passion and integrity as well as the many other values of Providence College. That led me to Kim."

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Providence will be his second head coaching job. English began his coaching career at Tulsa in 2015. He served as an assistant before heading to Colorado and Tennessee in similar roles. In his tenure, he worked under notable collegiate coaches Frank Haith, Tad Boyle and Rick Barnes. 

English, 34, will look to build upon a strong foundation. Providence went 21-12 this season and made the NCAA Tournament. English has a great recruiting background. He brought in multiple transfers to his George Mason program and helped develop A-10 selection Josh Oduro. 

Prior to his coaching career, English was also a standout athlete. He starred at Missouri and was a two-time All-Big 12 selection. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 2012 NBA draft.