It spells out “COOPER.”
Instead of some stunning image or stirring phrase or a heartfelt tribute to a family member or friend like most athletes chose for adornment, he’s gone with his own name.
“It’s just so I can have respect for my name,” he said. “When I play, I want to make a name for myself and when I see pictures, it reminds me of that.”
For a better reminder of Monday night’s Horizon League Tournament semifinal game against Northern Kentucky at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis, he just needs to glance at the box score.
Playing with a moxie that belied his youth, Cooper came off the bench in the second half and truly made a name for himself, scoring 23 of his career-high 25 points to lift the Raiders from a six-point deficit to a 103-90 victory over the Norse.
That put WSU into the league’s championship game with Detroit Mercy Tuesday night, with the winner getting the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Winners of nine of its last 11 games, Detroit — which toppled last year’s champs, Robert Morris, 70-64, in the other semifinal — split its two games with WSU this season. The Raiders won in Detroit by two and the Titans triumphed at the Nutter Center by three.
A victory over Detroit would put Wright State in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time as a Division I program.
The Raiders did go to the NCAA Division II Tournament eight times in 11 years and won a national title in 1983.
Since moving to D-I in 1987, WSU made the tournament in 1993 as a 16-seed and was routed by Indiana; in 2007 as a 14-seed and was beaten by Pittsburgh by 21; in 2018 as a 14-seed where it was overwhelmed by Tennessee; and 2022, when it beat Bryant in a First Four game at UD Arena before losing to Arizona, 87-70.
After going 15-18 last season under first-year head coach Cliff Sargent, this season’s 22-10 effort by the Raiders is one of the better turnarounds in college basketball and why Sargent was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year.
The year’s success blooming into a possible NCAA Tournament berth especially was on Cooper’s mind after Monday’s game:
“That’s everybody’s dream. To be able to knock that off my Bucket List in my freshman year would be beautiful.”
‘That shows he’s grown’
WSU’s reversal has been fueled in a big way this season by its two freshmen standouts, the 6-foot-3 Cooper and 6-foot-9 Kellen Pickett, who was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year.
Their seasons took divergent paths.
After a stellar high school career at Blackhawk Christian in Fort Wayne, Pickett chose Wright State over several mid-major schools and found himself coming off the bench in 11 of the Raiders’ first 12 games. In five of them, he averaged just over four minutes of playing time and never made a field goal.
But on December 22, Sargent inserted him into the starting lineup and he — and WSU — took off.
Cooper started the first 14 games and was averaging 15.4 points per game when he suffered a thumb injury in practice in late December. That sidelined him for four games and when he came back, the team was doing well, and he had to bolster himself coming off the bench.
After starring at Jeffersonville High in Indiana last year — where he won a 4A state title — he admitted it took some adjustments:
“My feelings weren’t hurt — I’m a team first guy — but it was my first time coming off the bench and I had to get used to that.
“Now I’m able to see some stuff before I go out there. I look at it as though I’m watching some film the first couple of minutes before I go in.”
Sargent has an appreciation of Cooper, who Monday night he described as having the “it factor” of a star in the making:
“I think of all the freshmen years you could have, his is the one I have the most empathy for. I think it has been the hardest. He had success right away. He was young and confident. He had that confidence before any of us had it. He just took off running ... but then he got hurt.
“Then we got confident and started winning. And when he came back he tried to find his way. He had to deal with all the mental aspects that come with it and that’s hard for a young guy.
“It’s helped that we’ve had 10 different starting lineups this year. He’s watched older players be selfless and sacrifice for the team. That’s made an impact.”
Cooper said he’s especially developed going against sophomore guard T.J. Burch, the Ball State transfer who took his place and was named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
“I’m glad he’s not here to hear this,” Cooper said after he and Burch, who had 22 points Monday, left the postgame session. “But having the Defensive Player of the Year picking me up at 94 feet and guarding me the whole way helped me develop.”
While Cooper’s made great strides, there is a glitch occasionally.
Monday night actually started out on a sour note for him, said Sargent, who also attended the postgame session and nodded at the guard:
“I’m going to humble him a bit.
“Early on, I barked at him for taking what I thought was a bad shot right off when he went into the game in the first half. Then he didn’t get on a 50-50 ball.”
Sargent pulled him off the court just 86 seconds after he’d put him in and talked to him on the sideline:
“I thought he showed a lot of maturity taking that coaching and handling accountability.
“That shows he’s grown.”
‘I’m getting better here’
That development presents another pressing question.
In this era of bigger schools with far more lucrative NIL deals luring players away from mid-majors, Sargent was asked if he worried about his two promising freshmen being poached by other programs.
“Absolutely!” he said without hesitation.
For their part, Cooper and Pickett have not said anything publicly about leaving, though neither has given an unequivocal affirmation that he will return either.
“Time will tell,” Cooper said Monday night when we spoke in private. “I’m here now.
“I’d love to come back and be 2-for-2. At the end of the day this (WSU) is my home … So we’ll see.”
A little over two weeks ago I asked Pickett about his future as a Raider.
“I love it here,” he said. “I feel it’s God’s plan for me to be here right now.”
And that’ll be the same next year?
“That’s the plan.”
Sargent spoke candidly Monday night about holding on to his two young promising freshmen.
He mentioned how player retention was a big part in building this team this season and he hopes it holds true again, though none of his returnees had the hype these two young players have.
“You want your guys to be on the biggest stage,” he said. “You want people to want your players. That’s a good thing in any industry. It means you’re a success. People see the value.
“But I also feel the moment you feel like you’re a victim to all this, you should get out of the industry.
“You hope that the reason they came to you is that they value the relationship. And then after nine months together they come out the other side saying, ‘I enjoyed that. I enjoyed that time together.’
“You hope they feel like we helped them get better just as they helped us get better.
“I try to do this with honesty and transparency from the very start. I think how you get them in the door in the first place really matters.
“We’re not out there just trying to pay and get guys in here for just a dollar amount because then they’ll probably leave for a dollar amount, too.
“Still, it’s up to us at Wright State to make investments to how we sustain excellence.
“I tell them, I’m not your adversary. We won’t try to manipulate you. We’ll give you an honest opinion. And you need good discernment when it is a good time to go.
“Ideally, if you decide to leave, we feel like we should be a part of it.”
Cooper said he has grown here.
His high school is right across the Ohio River from Louisville, but he said the Cardinals weren’t interested in him coming out of high school:
“I wasn’t ready for that level … then.”
And now?
“I’m getting better here.”
You saw that in the second half Monday when he made no-flinch three-point shots, finished off drives into the teeth of the Northern Kentucky defense and was an unwavering 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
The assuredness he shows on the court also explains that tat, the coach said.
“Do you have a tattoo with just your name?” Sargent asked. “Me neither.
“That just shows the confidence he has in himself.”
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