He’s only played five games this season, but the Guardian of Auburn, Sharife Cooper, is going strong as the best freshman in college basketball for the 2020-21 season.
Cooper, a five-star recruit in the 2020 class and his # 24 overall player, missed the Tigers’ first 12 games – and 78 drills – when the NCAA checked his eligibility. He was declared eligible on January 9th, the day Auburn played rival Alabama. Cooper was fit for the first time this season and, despite his defeat, immediately showed why he was a top 25 consensus player among the recruiting bodies.
Cooper shot 8 of 19 out of the field (42.1 percent) for 26 points, adding nine assists, four rebounds and three steals. And since then it hasn’t slowed down.
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For the season, Cooper has averaged 22.5 points, 8.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He has scored double digits in all five competitions, including three games in which he scored at least 25 points. He also has two doubles doubles against Georgia and South Carolina. Auburn has been 3-2 since Cooper started playing.
Sharife Cooper’s first 5 college games:
Alabama: 26 PTS, 9 AST, 4 REB
Georgia: 28 PTS, 12 AST, 5 REB
Kentucky: 11 PTS, 8 AST, 3 REB
Arkansas: 25 PTS, 4 AST, 4 REB
South Carolina: 16 PTS, 12 AST, 6 REB
ELITE 🗣 @ CooperSharife (📸: @AuburnMBB) pic.twitter.com/0bnhHue7Jh
– Overtime (@overtime) January 23, 2021
Cooper’s last performance was Saturday’s 109-86 win over the Gamecocks, against whom he shot 4 out of 10 out of the field (2 out of 3 out of the 3-point range) and scored 16 points, 12 assists and six rebounds. At halftime he had earned his double doubles and lost 10 points and 11 assists.
Auburn has nothing to offer when it comes to postseason tournaments. The team announced a self-imposed postseason ban on former basketball assistant Chuck Person as part of bribes on November 22. However, if it were eligible, Cooper could help get the team (9-7, 3-5 SEC) back into NCAA tournament competition.
Even so, the Tigers are still a team worth watching – if for no other reason than Cooper’s incredible game.
