Ohio point guard D.J. Cooper was recently named one of the top 100 college basketball players in America by CBSSports.com.
Although the season is still three weeks away, Cooper was recognized as the 93rd best player in the country.
“I don’t get too caught up in lists,” Ohio coach John Groce said. “But from a talent standpoint, he’s very gifted. From a physical tools standpoint at his position, I’m not sure what he can’t do.”
The list made note of Cooper’s 44.7 percent assist rate last season, second in the country.
Cooper led the Bobcats with 15.8 points per game last season. He led the Mid-American Conference in assists while ranking second in steals, assist-to-turnover ratio and minutes played.
Topping the list was Ohio State sophomore Jared Sullinger.
The only other MAC player to make the list was Buffalo’s Javon McCrea at 91st.
Buffalo coach Reggie Witherspoon said it is good for the conference to have its top players acknowledged on a national scale.
“It helps our conference in terms of people recognizing there are many good players in our conference,” Witherspoon said. “D.J. has demonstrated for a couple years his ability to pass the ball and score and get his teammates involved.”
As Cooper enters his junior season, Groce said he would like to see his point guard develop his leadership skills as well as his defense of the ball.
“The ability to get his teammates to play at a higher level and inspire a ball club,” Groce said. “Those are the things that he can do to take our team and his game to another level.”
Cooper ranks 29th on Ohio’s all-time scoring list with 1,050 points and an average of 6.7 assists per game.
Groce said he would not be surprised to see McCrea attract more national attention as his career progresses.
“He’s a terrific player. His future is extremely bright,” Groce said. “He’s got the type of game that, depending on how hard he works, if he continues to improve and get better, it wouldn’t surprise me if, as a junior and senior, he’s mentioned in the same breath as some of the all-time MAC greats. I think he’s
that good.”
ro137807@ohiou.edu
