What would you do hours before you expected to be selected in the NBA draft?
If you are Sharife Cooper, you play three-on-three at your Powder Springs home with family bragging rights on the line.
“It’s extremely competitive in the household with the Coopers,” Cooper said Friday, the day after the Hawks drafted him in the second round. “The day before the draft we were outside playing three-on-three. My dad, he can talk a little trash so we went outside and played a little three-on-three. Stuff like that happens all the time. It’s a lot of competition. I feel like that’s what makes me, me when I play against other people.”
The Coopers are a basketball family and Sharife is now a professional along with sister Te’a, who plays for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. Cooper is a former Atlanta Journal-Constitution boys basketball co-player of the year, Georgia Mr. Basketball and Gatorade national player of the year. He led McEachern High to a state championship before playing a season at Auburn.
The 6-foot-1 Cooper appeared in 12 games as a freshman last season at Auburn and averaged 20.2 points, 8.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 33.1 minutes. He scored in double figures in all 12 games including a career-best 28 points twice (Jan. 13 at Georgia and Jan. 26 vs. Missouri). He is one of two NCAA Division I freshman in the last 30 years - joining new teammate Trae Young - to average 20 points and eight assists per game.
Young and fellow former Mr. Georgia Basketball Lou Williams, who played for the Hawks last season, were two who immediately reach out to Cooper after he was selected by his hometown Hawks.
Cooper grew up a Hawks fan and called the opportunity to play in Atlanta ‘surreal.’
“Growing up here in Atlanta, watching the Joe Johnsons and the Josh Smiths, all those guys, and seeing all the success they have today, that’s something I’ve dreamed to be a part of,” Cooper said. “I can’t wait to get started.”
It was not the first time Cooper has spoken with Young. The two have a relationship. Young once named Cooper one of his four favorite high school players in a social media post. Cooper said he has been a fan of Young’s for some time, watching him and Michael Porter play at AAU tournaments.
“Watching him show that love and now that we are on the same team it’s going to be fun for sure,” Cooper said of the tweet from Young.
With Cooper, McEachern advanced to the state semifinals as a freshman and the quarterfinals as a sophomore, gaining national attention. As a junior, 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. After his sophomore season, Cooper said he thought getting to the NBA was a possibility. It became reality after a brief collegiate career. His No. 2 is retired by the school.
The Hawks selected Cooper with the 48th overall pick and were happy to do so.
“We had (Sharife) ranked much higher than 48,” Hawks general manger Travis Schlenk said. “We got pretty excited when we saw him there late. A really, really good playmaker. He’s good with the ball in his hands, a very good passer. He pushes tempo and has the ability to get to the foul line. We’re excited to add him to our program as well.”
Young will get his first chance to wear a Hawks uniform, along with first-round pick Jalen Johnson, this week at the Las Vegas Summer League. It will be an easy commute – well, as easy as it can be in Atlanta traffic – from Powder Springs to the Hawks’ practice facility in Brookhaven. NBA training camps will begin in September and the regular season will begin in October.
The journey will continue in earnest after that pre-draft three-on-three game in the driveway.
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