D.J. Cooper drove hard to the basket in the early minutes against the Akron Zips, cutting and slicing through the Zip defense with confidence.
A few plays later, he fired up a deep 3-pointer that hit all net. As the Convo crowd erupted, Cooper had announced his return.
After looking timid on the ankle he hurt against Toledo, he looked like the fluid, brisk point guard during his 25-point performance that included 7 3-pointers.
"I just got in a little rhythm," Cooper said with a smile. "I give my teammates credit though. They've been playing great for so many games and teams don't want to leave DeVaughn (Washington) and Tommy (Freeman) and Nick (Kellogg)."
Whether he tossed fluid passes or confidently fired up deep 3-pointers, Cooper was on.
Not known for his 3-point accuracy, Cooper caught fire en route to his career-high 7 treys. With the Bobcats adding to a dominating 56-33 lead, he knocked down three 3-pointers in as many possessions. He put an exclamation point on the final make, sinking from five feet behind the arc.
Cooper attributed his shots to what the Akron defense was giving him. The Zips gave him open space from outside and didn't put too much pressure on him while compensating for Ohio's other weapons.
"I wasn't exactly looking for it," Cooper said. "That's just what they were giving me."
With his passes, Cooper constantly slid through the Akron defense before passing it off to his post players.
Ohio has struggled at the beginning of the second half numerous times throughout the year, but Cooper's quick toss to a jumping DeVaughn Washington showed a different second half Bobcat team. Washington promptly slammed the ball to put Ohio up 46-22.
The confidence, quickness and smooth play was there from Ohio's ring leader. By the end of the night, Cooper had finished with 25 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. He also passed his single-season assist record of 218 from last season.
Afterwards, Akron coach Keith Danbrot compared Cooper's mentality to another former under-6-foot MAC point guard: Earl Boykin.
"He's just kind of a mean, nasty, winning kind of guy," Dambrot said. "He does a lot of good things."
With Cooper back to leading the explosive Ohio offense, the Bobcats look eerily similar to how they played toward the end of last year, which culminated in a Mid-American Conference tournament title. Ohio plays Miami Friday before heading to Cleveland for the tournament next week.