The most pressing issue for the program going into the season, apart from changing a culture that had become too soft, was finding a legitimate point guard after subpar play there for a couple of years.
Though it’s early, and it’d wise to wait until he plays in games that actually count, Cooper’s breakout performance means the Raiders probably can call off their search. They have their point guard.
“Since the first day on campus, all the coaches have been telling me I don’t have time to be a freshman. Having that confidence in me, it makes me feel good being out there, especially with my brothers. They don’t look at me as a freshman, either,” Cooper said.
“I know they trust me with the ball in my hands. It’s pretty easy to be confident in myself when everybody on our staff and on our team is confident in me as well.”
Cooper has competed before in high-stakes games, having been part of a state championship team in Indiana last season.
Jeffersonville snapped Fishers’ 43-game winning streak with a one-point win in OT.
He had the game-tying bucket at the end of regulation and finished with 15 points, while Northwestern signee Tre Singleton had 26.
“We decided to go all in on Michael when I watched him play in a top-100 camp, and he just made it look effortless,” Sargent said.
“The ability to get on campus and be very honest and vulnerable with his teammates — he’s always in our offices, he’s always checking in. … That’s given him a ton of confidence to go out there and cut it loose because I think he feels the relational backing.”
The players know they’re not getting very far without a savvy point guard, and Cooper has been receiving atta-boys from the likes of returning stalwart Solomon Callaghan, who had 14 points and was brilliant in crunch time, scoring 12 points (making a pair of 3’s) in the final 2:29.
“For Michael to come on as a true freshman and for Solomon to put his arm around him and say, ‘Let’s go’ — and, right from the beginning, affirming him with ‘how good you are’ and ‘how badly we need you’ — is so important,” Sargent said.
“Most young men would get territorial. They would get guarded and maybe selfish. But Solomon has led so well in that. And Michael is fearless. I trust him in a ton of ways. I don’t know if we’ve had that in a freshman here.”
The OU game was rugged, and the refs took a let-‘em-play approach, which was just fine with the sturdy, 185-pound Cooper, who could hold his ground.
His best attribute, though, was his poise. Asked where that comes from, he said:
“Indiana high school basketball is big. You play in the Pacers’ arena for a state championship, a sold-out gym, it’s going to be tough for me to be nervous again after playing in that game.”
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