Tag: sharife cooper

2021 NBA draft: 10 bold predictions for incoming rookie class

Rookie Wire decided to put on our thinking caps and predict the future so we made 10 bold predictions for the 2021-22 rookie class.

The 75th anniversary season of the NBA officially tipped off on Tuesday with four of the top teams in the league taking the court to much fanfare in front of a national audience.

The league will return to some level of normalcy this season following a challenging 2020-21 campaign amidst the coronavirus pandemic. With a new season upon us, there is a new opportunity for teams and players to leave their mark in the league.

The incoming rookie class had the luxury of playing in summer league, with a full training camp and preseason schedule that should help smooth the transition to the NBA. We have already caught a glimpse of what the group has to offer in the preseason alone.

Rookie Wire decided to put on our thinking caps and predict the future. We made 10 bold predictions for the rookie class and offered an opinion on what we might see. To make this exercise fun, we will come back at the end of the season and see how we did.

Here is how we fared last season. We didn’t do particularly well.

Hawks’ Sharife Cooper working to change his narrative on defense

The Hawks rookie wants to prove his doubters wrong and show that he is capable of being a strong defender.

Atlanta Hawks head coach Nate McMillan praised rookie Sharife Cooper on Saturday for the energy and effort he brought late to lead his team to a comeback win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Cooper scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter as the Hawks overcame a 10-point deficit to defeat the Grizzlies, 91-87. He also added four rebounds, three assists, three steals and one blocked shot in 21 minutes of work.

“I love the energy that he’s bringing,” McMillan said of Cooper. “He’s scrappy. He’s playing scrappy basketball out there. He’s trying to make a statement. He’s stepping up and he’s not pacing himself. I love the energy that he is bringing.”

McMillan gave Cooper credit for changing the tempo of the game when he was on the court. He organized the team well, and helped lead the charge back after trailing in the final period. The effort, Cooper said, stemmed from just doing what he had to do to win.

My mindset was just to win at all costs. That is something I don’t like doing, our team doesn’t like doing and that is losing. Before the game, they told us we only won one quarter out of eight and that’s not how we want to do things.

I know I’m new but I definitely understand that from the time I’ve been here. The mindset was win at all costs and in the fourth quarter, that’s definitely closing time so I definitely wanted to make a big impact on that.

The defensive showing by Cooper versus Memphis was not by accident.

Cooper made it a point of emphasis over the summer to work on that area of his game. He improved his conditioning to give him the ability to continue to make hustle plays and play defense at a high level for every play when he is on the court.

He entered the NBA draft highly touted for his ability as a floor general and willingness to get his teammates involved. However, some believe he left much to be desired defensively so he went to work to try to change that narrative.

I feel like that was a thing people would say during my draft process that I kinda lacked on defense. I feel like that was a big emphasis I wanted to make this coming year, just show I can defend, defend multiple positions and make an impact on that end. That’s why I have so much energy, I’m definitely trying to get that narrative changed and start and a new chapter.

Cooper was graded by some as a potential first-round prospect but eventually fell to the Hawks at 48. He has played like a first-round player to this point and could emerge as a steal for Atlanta. Certainly, improving defensively will help him achieve that.

Atlanta will finish up preseason play on Thursday versus the Miami Heat.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Sharife Cooper, Isaac Okoro swap jerseys during NBA preseason

The contest marked the first meeting between the two players in the NBA after Cooper was drafted this year.

A pair of Auburn Tigers players swapped jerseys with each other on Wednesday as Sharife Cooper and the Atlanta Hawks hosted Isaac Okoro and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The contest marked the first meeting between the two players in the NBA after Cooper was drafted this year in the second round by the Hawks. Cooper played last season with the Tigers, while Okoro spent the 2019-20 season with the program.

While they did not play together in college, Cooper and Okoro were teammates at McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia. They both shared Player of the Year honors in 2019 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The first meeting saw Okoro and the Cavaliers pick up the 99-96 victory. Okoro recorded 12 points and three steals while Cooper had nine points, five assists and four rebounds in 16 minutes off of the bench.

While Cooper ended with the loss, he helped produce the play of the game after connecting with John Collins on an insane alley-oop dunk, in which Collins nearly leaped over Jarrett Allen.

The two players will meet again in the regular season on Oct. 23 in Atlanta.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Twitter reacts to John Collins’ insane alley-oop from Sharife Cooper

Collins nearly lept over Jarrett Allen to throw down the dunk of the year in only the preseason.

When John Collins jumps, you probably shouldn’t jump with him.

That is likely what Jarrett Allen thought midway through the fourth quarter on Wednesday as Collins skied toward the rim for an alley-oop attempt. Unfortunately, Allen still couldn’t have predicted what was about to happen.

It all unfolded when Atlanta Hawks rookie Sharife Cooper found some space off of a screen. He charged toward the rim, and threw the ball up in the general direction of Collins. He caught it, threw it down and nearly leaped over Allen in the process.

The result of the play hit social media and began to spread like wildfire.

The Cavaliers may have emerged with the win but Collins won the preseason with that alley-oop on Allen. When the season is all said and done, that dunk may still stand out as one of the best and it happened just two games into the preseason.

Moral of the story: Don’t jump with John Collins…

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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2021 NBA Draft: A complete tracker of every rookie shoe deal

Rookie Wire took a look at the players that have signed endorsement contracts with apparel companies ahead of the 2021-22 season.

With the start of the 2021-22 season approaching, at least a quarter of players drafted in July have inked shoe endorsement contracts with prospective apparel companies.

The endorsement deals are headlined by Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham signing with Nike. The No. 1 overall pick signed what is believed to be the highest-earning shoe deal among all rookie players this year.

Prospects last season signed fewer endorsement contracts with brands due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, apparel companies worked fast this year to sign some of the top prospects with Nike and Adidas doing the majority of the work.

Rookie Wire took a look at those players that have signed endorsement contracts to this point and which companies they will be joining ahead of the 2021-22 season.

Note: The tracker will be updated as new deals are announced

Ja Morant is shocked Sharife Cooper dropped to Hawks in second round

Cooper is averaging 17.7 points, nine assists and 1.3 rebounds through three games, ranking sixth in scoring among all rookies.

Atlanta Hawks rookie Sharife Cooper continued a strong run in the Las Vegas Summer League on Thursday and earned high praise from a current NBA player in the process.

Cooper produced a team-high 21 points and 12 assists in 33 minutes during a 96-88 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime. He shot 9-of-18 from the field and has led the Hawks in scoring in two of their three games from Las Vegas.

After hitting the game-winning shot on Tuesday, Cooper converted a clutch layup attempt with just 7.9 seconds left to tie the game and force overtime. He scored 10 points alone in the final period to lead the Hawks down the stretch.

The play of Cooper in summer league has earned quite a bit of attention.

Cooper is averaging 17.7 points, nine assists and 1.3 rebounds through the Hawks’ first three games, ranking sixth in scoring among all first-year players.

He even earned a shoutout from Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant.

Of course, his falling to the Hawks at No. 48 was among the biggest surprises of the draft. He was most commonly projected to be a first-round pick, and some even had him going to the Hawks at No. 20.

Cooper, who was signed to a two-way contract, has certainly outplayed his draft position early in summer league. If he can continue that production into the season, he could be a prime candidate to earn a standard contract.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Tyrese Maxey, Isaiah Joe lead Sixers past Sharife Cooper, Hawks in Vegas

Tyrese Maxey and Isaiah Joe come up large as the Philadelphia 76ers knock off the Atlanta Hawks in summer league play in Vegas.

The Philadelphia 76ers continued their summer league schedule on Thursday when they took on a talented Atlanta Hawks squad and it came down to the wire. Both teams went back and forth, but thanks to Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers were able to come away with a 96-88 overtime summer league victory out in Vegas.

Maxey led Philadelphia with 31 points as he took the game over down the stretch when the team needed him the most. He scored 21 points in the second half and he also added six rebounds and five assists.

Isaiah Joe was huge as well scoring 21 points, knocking down five triples and he had five rebounds while Paul Reed added 20 and 11 boards. Their efforts were needed as Hawks rookie Sharife Cooper had 21 points and 12 assists as he showed up in a big way.

Rookie Jaden Springer finished with seven points on 3-for-9 shooting as he continues his introduction into the league. He had a big play in overtime where he showed off a lot of patience in order to get free for a bucket.

The standout stat is that Maxey took eight triples. Granted, he only made one of them, but the major point is that he is taking those shots and he is taking them with confidence. The fact that he is beginning to add this to his game is a huge development that will go a long way for him in the future.

Reed also continues to show off some impressive plays on the defensive end which is something he wants to add to his game. Joe also had a couple of moves on the offensive end that showed that he is more than just a shooter as he was able to get to the cup and finish some tough layups.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Trae Young had a priceless reaction to Sharife Cooper’s game-winner

Young was hyped to see Cooper hit the game-winning shot as time expired to send the Hawks to a win over the Pacers.

Sharife Cooper on Tuesday produced a team-high 21 points but it was his 3-pointer as time expired that sent the Atlanta Hawks to an 84-83 win over the Indiana Pacers in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Trailing by two points with less than 10 seconds remaining, the Hawks recovered the ball following a missed shot to set up Cooper.

He backpedaled to the 3-point line in the corner and let it fly as the ball found nothing but the bottom of the net.

“Once I saw Max (Heidegger) get it, I just ran to the corner and, God-willing, it went in,” Cooper said. “I was like, ‘They better not overturn this! It feels good to get a win and (also to) feel good about ourselves going into the next one.”

Cooper was immediately mobbed by his teammates after hitting the shot. It got those on hand at the Cox Pavilion out of their seats, including teammate Trae Young, who had a rather great reaction.

Young is among several Hawks players in attendance in Las Vegas to watch the group compete.

Sitting courtside, Young immediately jumped out of his seat onto the court, and later revealed he was nearly tackled by security for leaving the sideline.

His reaction to the scene on Twitter was just as good as jumping onto the court.

Once the chaos cleared, though, Young eventually saw Cooper and the rest of the team. Cooper, as he told Young after the game, was just trying to emulate him by hitting the game-winning shot as time expired.

“He was like, ‘Good shot, killer,'” Cooper said. “That’s kinda what he said. I just joked around with him, ‘I got it from you!’ I watched (the Hawks) all season, watched him hit countless big shots. I can’t wait to get in the gym with him and work with him.”

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Cooper, who was the 48th overall pick, also added nine assists and one steal in 29 minutes of work. He finished the contest by shooting 8-of-14 from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range.

The 20-year-old falling to the Hawks in the second round was among the biggest surprises of the draft. He was most commonly projected to be a first-round pick, and some even had him going to the Hawks at No. 20.

Cooper acknowledged that the draft is in the past now, and he is squarely focused on the Hawks and summer league. Certainly, that would seem to be the case after his effort on Tuesday.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: Sharife Cooper makes game winning three

The former Auburn star called GAME.

This confirms what every Auburn fan was thinking. Sharife Cooper fell too far in the NBA draft.

As the NBA’s summer league games are going, basketball fans have been watching their team’s stars of the future make plays. On Tuesday night, Cooper showed the NBA what he was capable of with nailing a last-second three for the Atlanta Hawks to win the game.

Cooper was picked with the 48th overall pick by the Hawks and he is rewarding his hometown team.

Cooper’s shot put the Hawks ahead of the Indiana Pacers in the closing seconds of the contest.

Check it out below.

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‘The draft is in the past’: Sharife Cooper locked in with the Hawks

Cooper is focused on the Hawks now, and not those teams that passed on him in the NBA draft.

Former Auburn guard Sharife Cooper said over the weekend that his focus is strictly on the Atlanta Hawks now, and not those teams that passed on him Thursday in the NBA draft.

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.

The 20-year-old entered the draft most commonly projected to be a first-round pick. However, he slipped all the way down to the Hawks at No. 48 in the second round, creating one of the biggest surprises of the evening.

Cooper felt as though dropping to the Hawks happened by design.

“I feel like God doesn’t make any mistakes,” Cooper said. “The draft is in the past. I just couldn’t be more thankful that the Hawks took a chance on me and that’s kinda my focus for now. I’m with the Hawks and everything else is in the past.”

Cooper projects to give the Hawks another play-making option on the court. He has the ability to create for himself with his quickness, and can also find his teammates on the floor. Atlanta showed in the playoffs it could use another playmaker, and Cooper could be that option.

While Cooper certainly would have liked to have heard his name called in the first round, landing with the Hawks could eventually be a blessing in disguise for him. The Hawks have proven to have a strong development system and he could be the next beneficiary.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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