FAYETTEVILLE — River Grove, Ill., Triton College head coach Steve Christiansen figured he was getting a one-and-done player in Courtese Cooper (6-10, 205), just not the conventional way.
Cooper, who was both an outstanding basketball and volleyball player out of Elgin, Ill., led Triton to the NJCAA Division II championship and is being looked at by Arkansas, Cincinnati, Michigan, Arizona State, Creighton and Illinois and several more schools.
“I took him on the premise that he would likely only be here one year, develop and then he would move on to the next level,” Christensen said. “That’s just what happened and he was a big reason we won the national championship. I had to get an edge for him so I started going to his volleyball games, too, but convinced him basketball was the right choice.”
Cooper averaged 10.1 points and 6.8 rebounds while blocking 103 shots last season for the Trojans.
He shot 55.8 percent from the field, 71 percent from the free throw line and 40 percent from 3-point range. He had 18 double-digit scoring efforts and six double-digit rebounding games.
“He has a 7-foot-5 wing span and can really get to a lot of shots,” Christiansen said. “He is so athletic, has a nice shot and by the end of the year he was able to shoot 3-pointers really well. I think about how good he is now and about and what a monster he is going to be in the next few years.”
Arkansas assistant coach Scotty Thurman has told Christiansen that the Razorbacks can see him playing alongside Daniel Gafford (6-11, 233) next season.
“Scotty thinks Courtese can play with him (Gafford) next year and help protect the rim, can get beat on and toughened up in practice by him and then take over when he leaves the program,” Christiansen said. “I think that would be a really good fit for him if that’s what ends up happening.”
Cooper, who blocked 165 shots in high school as a senior, has seen his recruitment take off since the Trojans won the national title.
“I really get more schools calling about him every day since he played so well in the national tournament,” Christiansen said. “He is getting a lot of attention and has earned that attention. He hasn’t set up any official visits yet. We’ll get around to doing that later.”