Atlanta Hawks rookie Sharife Cooper on Tuesday was among those on hand as the No. 22 Auburn Tigers opened up the regular season versus Morehead State.
Wendell Green Jr. scored a game-high 19 points, K.D. Johnson had 12 points and Devan Cambridge added 11 points to lead the Tigers to a 77-54 win. Auburn led by 20 points after the first half and was able to cruise to the easy victory to open up the season.
Of course, the Tigers lost Cooper to the NBA draft after a sensational season last year.
Cooper was named to the SEC All-Freshman team after averaging 20.2 points, 8.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds and one steal in 12 games. He was one of seven players to average at least 20 points and eight assists over the last 25 years.
He reunited with former head coach Bruce Pearl after the win.
Here's @coachbrucepearl and @SharifeCooper sharing a moment after tonight's game.
Cooper came back to Auburn and was recognized on the court in the second half.
📸 Photos from Auburn vs. Morehead State: https://t.co/1uuK03vgJp pic.twitter.com/rwOZ8Vi5D0
— Justin Lee (@ByJustinLee) November 10, 2021
Cooper, the 48th overall pick, signed a two-way contract over the offseason. He averaged 5.5 points, 2.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds in the preseason, but was not part of the rotation to begin the season and was recently sent to the College Park Skyhawks in the NBA G League.
He hit five 3-pointers en route to a 23-point performance in his debut with the Skyhawks on Friday. Cooper followed that up with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in his second game with College Park on Sunday.
With the Skyhawks off until Friday, Cooper had the opportunity to return to campus and watch the Tigers kick off their season in grand fashion with a win.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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