Sharife Omar Cooper (born June 11, 2001) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Cleveland Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, Ohio, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team plays its home games at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland. The fra ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

High school career

In his freshman season in 2016–17, Cooper averaged 16 points and 4.4 assists per game, leading

McEachern High School John McEachern High School or McEachern High School is a public high school established in 1908 in Powder Springs, Georgia, United States. It was originally established as the Seventh District Agricultural and Mechanical School. Due to its hist ...

Powder Springs, Georgia Powder Springs is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, Cobb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 13,940 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, with an estimated population for 2019 of 15,758. In 2015, the cit ...

to a 29–1 record and an appearance in the

Georgia High School Association The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) is an organization that governs athletics and activities for member high schools in Georgia, USA. GHSA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations. The association has 463 pu ...

(GHSA) Class 7A state semifinals. The following year, he led the Indians to a state quarterfinals appearance while posting a 26–3 record. He received considerable media attention in December 2017 for his 42-point performance against

Jahvon Quinerly Jahvon Quinerly (born November 25, 1998) is an American college basketball player for the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball, Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He previously played for the Villanova Wildcats men's bask ...

and nationally ranked

Hudson Catholic Regional High School Hudson Catholic Regional High School is a regional four-year co-educational University-preparatory Catholic high school in Jersey City, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The school was established in 1964 by the Roman Catholic Archd ...

in the quarterfinals of the

City of Palms Classic The City of Palms Classic is an annual high school basketball tournament held in Fort Myers, Florida. History The tournament began in 1973 as a high school boys' basketball tournament with a seven-team format. The earliest editions featured team ...

. He scored the game-winning buzzer-beater in an 83–81

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victory. As a junior in 2018–19, Cooper led McEachern to a perfect 32–0 record and the first state title in school history while averaging 27.2 points, 8.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 4.3 steals per game. In the title-game win over Meadowcreek, he scored 20 points and dished four assists as McEachern finished ranked No. 1 in three national polls. He picked up

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(MVP) honors at several tournaments, including the City of Palms Classic and Tournament of Champions. After the season, he was named ''USA Today'' All-USA Player of the Year, MaxPreps National Player of the Year, Mr. Georgia Basketball, and Georgia's

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine playe ...

. He also earned ''

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'' All-USA first team and Naismith All-American second team honors. Cooper was selected to play in the 2020 McDonald's All-American Boys Game on January 23, 2020. On May 6, 2021, Cooper's #2 high school jersey number was retired at McEachern where he was honored as the most decorated male basketball player in school history.

Recruiting

On September 27, 2019, Cooper committed to play

for

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. He became the highest-ranked recruit and the second five-star recruit in program history.

College career

Cooper missed the first 12 games of his freshman season due to a

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

investigation into his eligibility. During that time, he explored professional options. On January 9, 2021, he made his Auburn debut, recording 26 points, nine assists and four rebounds in a 94–90 loss to

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. Four days later, Cooper posted a season-high 28 points, 12 assists and five rebounds in a 95–77 win over

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. As a freshman, he averaged 20.2 points, 8.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game through 12 appearances, earning

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

All-Freshman Team honors. On April 2, 2021, Cooper declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA us ...

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2021–2022)

Cooper was selected in the second round of the

with the 48th pick by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

. On August 5, 2021, he signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the Hawks, splitting time with their

affiliate, the

College Park Skyhawks The College Park Skyhawks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in College Park, Georgia, and are affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks. The Skyhawks play their home games at Gateway Center Arena at College Park a ...

. He played for the Hawks in the 2021 NBA Summer League, recording 11 points on 5–11 shooting, and 6 assists in 28 minutes at his debut in a 85–83 loss against the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. Cooper made his NBA debut in the Hawks' season opener against the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

, going 0-for-3 in field goals in a 113–87 win. Cooper joined the Hawks'

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus ...

roster. On July 22, 2022, Cooper re-signed with the Hawks on another two-way deal. He was waived three days later.

Cleveland Charge (2022–present)

On September 20, 2022, Cooper signed with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. He was waived on October 15. On October 24, 2022, Cooper joined the

's training camp roster. Cooper was named to the G League's inaugural Next Up Game for the 2022–23 season.

Career statistics

NBA

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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College

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Personal life

Cooper was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

area when he was around the age of six. He has two sisters, Te'a and Mia, who both won state titles at McEachern, while Te'a continued on to play at

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and Baylor before being drafted by the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

in the 2020 WNBA draft. He also has a twin brother, Omar.

References

External links

Auburn Tigers bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Sharife 2001 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players American twins Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Auburn Tigers men's basketball players Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey Cleveland Charge players College Park Skyhawks players McDonald's High School All-Americans Point guards Twin sportspeople