NEW YORK — Incensed by what he believed to be an absence of “emotional discipline” and “physical discipline” during his team’s 71-67 loss to DePaul in the opening round of the Big East Tournament on Wednesday night, Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley’s frustration with a season gone awry was quickly distilled into what he perceived as a lack of respect from the remainder of the league’s coaches. Not for himself — seemingly every one of Cooley’s coaching colleagues lauds his chops for program building after what he accomplished at Providence from 2011-23. Instead, this was about a player who couldn’t even suit up for the Hoyas at Madison Square Garden.
The 6-foot-10, 255-pound Sorber was a four-star prospect and the No. 43 overall player in the 2024 recruiting cycle, the kind of blue-chip talent that once populated Georgetown rosters of old. Sorber represented a massive recruiting win for Cooley when he became the sixth highest-rated recruit to sign with the Hoyas since 247Sports began tracking data 25 years ago, trailing only Greg Monroe (2008), Aminu Muhammad (2021), DaJuan Summers (2006), Vernon Macklin and Isaac Copeland (2014). He headlined a class that ranked 12th nationally and second in the Big East behind UConn but was the only Hoya signee among the top 50 prospects overall.
Sorber’s impact at Georgetown was felt immediately. He poured in 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his first collegiate game against Lehigh and then bettered that performance three days later by scoring 25 points and snagging nine rebounds in a victory over Fairfield. He reached double figures in 18 of the 24 games he played before the Hoyas shut him down for the remainder of the season, including five outings with 20 points or more. Even with the injury, Sorber was still voted third-team All-Big East and named to the league’s All-Freshman Team after averaging 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2 blocks per game.
There’s little doubt that Sorber would be among the conference’s best players should he choose to return for his sophomore season, especially if this year’s winner — shooting guard RJ Luis Jr. from St. John’s — declares for the NBA Draft. But Sorber himself will face the same decision about whether to remain in school or turn professional, with nearly every mock draft projecting him as a potential first-round pick given both his size and the breadth of his skill set at just 19 years old. He won’t turn 20 until December.
Cooley just wishes his coaching colleagues saw Sorber the same way.
“Really disappointed that the right thing wasn’t done for a kid who more than earned it,” Cooley said. “If a kid is the Big East Rookie of the Week seven times and the other kid is the Big East Rookie of the Week seven times, and they played about the same amount of games, and one person had just as much production, if not more, but had a major impact not [just] in the Big East but nationally — nationally — and he’s not recognized like that [it’s very frustrating]. Shame on our coaches for not recognizing that. Seriously, shame on the coaches because that kid more than earned it, more than deserved it.
“Again, I’m praying my big boy comes back, because if he does, this room will look blue and gray.”
At which point Cooley pounded his fist on the table, climbed to his feet and exited the media room.
Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.
