The long awaited debut for Sharife Cooper at Auburn came on Saturday and it was well worth it.
In the 94-90 loss to Alabama, Cooper scored 26 points, dished out nine assists, brought down four rebounds and had three steals in his first action in a Tigers uniform, earning him the SEC Freshman of the Week.
Per the Auburn release:
The Powder Springs, Ga. native became one of just two freshmen in the country, along with Powell, and one of just eight players overall to score 26 points and have nine assists in a game this season.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve played a game,” Cooper said after the game. “Practice never can simulate a real game. So, the first couple minutes, I knew it was going to be a little rusty. I haven’t played in a long time, so I didn’t want to force anything. I wanted to kind of get the feel of the pick and roll, get the feel of some of their defense and get to feel of our offense. I haven’t even run our offense much. I knew once I kind of settled down, thing would get to flowing, the offense would look better, and it did. Late in the game, I made some mistakes. I really put this game on me because there were a lot of things that I did wrong in the closing seconds. But this is the first game and we’ve got a lot to learn, and I’m ready for this journey.”