"A poor choice of words": Georgetown HC issues public apology after derogatory comment on University of Illinois

After the Georgetown Hoyas' 82-65 victory over St. Francis on Saturday, coach Ed Cooley had some choice words while discussing Jayden Epps. He was explicit in describing the third-year guard's defensive ascent.

"His (Jayden's) development defensively, it’s almost like he’s a new player," Cooley said in his postgame press conference. "It’s something I saw in his freshman year when he played for that other b*llsh*t school." (0:06)

The 18-year college coach kept it vague which school he was talking about.

"I'm pretty sure that (comment) will make national news when I say that. But I never said what school it was," Cooley said. (0:18)

But less than an hour after the postgame presser was made public, Cooley took back what he said in a post on X.

"My comment today was said in jest with one of my players, but I admit it was a poor choice of words. I have the utmost respect for the University of Illinois, its men’s basketball program, coaches and players," he wrote.

Epps played his freshman year of college basketball for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini under the tutelage of coach Brad Underwood. He averaged 9.5 points and 1.8 rebounds in his first season.

Later on Saturday, Underwood responded to Cooley's comments during his postgame press conference after the Illini's 87-40 win over the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks.

"That's not even worth wasting my time on. I don't know what he was referencing that about. Jayden had a productive freshman year here. But I'm not getting what about all that. I’ll let our fans and everybody else have fun with that,” Underwood said, trying to keep things peaceful on his side.

In the end, the Illini's main tactician is worried about their upcoming games against Little Rock and Arkansas, as his team has established a 4-1 record in the Big Ten.

For Cooley and the rest of the Georgetown Hoyas, the Wagner Seahawks are next on their schedule on Wednesday at the McDonough Arena as they aim to protect their similar 4-1 standing in the Big East.

Jayden Epps hitting defensive and offensive strides in year three with Georgetown

Jayden Epps preparing to defend his opponent's offense. (Image Credits: Charles Brock - Getty Images)

In this whole back-and-forth affair between his former and current coach, how much has Jayden Epps improved defensively and overall?

Now as a junior through the first five games of the year, Epps is stealing the ball twice while dropping 16.8 points a game. The 6-foot-2 combo guard is doing this on a 40% field goal percentage while chipping in 2.4 rebounds and assists.

Despite the turmoil going on with his coaches, it's clear that Epps is just trying to play and improve on his defense and offense. Should the Hoyas and the Illini square off this 2024-2025 season, expect Epps to keep his head down and help his team win in the hotly contested matchup.