By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
AS Monaco is the team that has shown the most in the Basketball Champions League this season. They have a 16-1 record so far and on Wednesday night (29/3) they beat Banvit on the road in the first leg of the quarterfinals, showing incredible passing touch. Monaco recorded 24 dishes and D.J. Cooper was vital for it.
The Chi-town native had 10 successful passes against Banvit completing his double-double with 13 points. He also had 4 steals which were enough for 23 points of index rating.
Cooper is in the best age for his point guard position, as history has shown, playmakers are usually at their peak between 27-33 years of age. They are filled with experience and they are set to prove their talent and quality.
To put things in perspective, Sasa Djordjevic was 28 years old back in 1995 when he won the Eurobasket, scoring 41 points, and shooting 9 of 12 on three-pointers in the final game against Lithuania. Tony Parker was 31 years old when he won the Eurobasket and Finals MVP award, while Sarunas Jasikevicus was 27 years old in 2003 when he won a triple with Barcelona.
D.J. Cooper is 27 years old and right now he is one the players that are carrying Monaco. The ultimate goal for him and Monaco is to go all the way in the Basketball Champions League and they are on the right path so far.
Cooper came to Monaco at the beginning of the season for the second time. He first played for them in 2016 but only for half a season. He spent the previous one in BCM Gravelines, earning the French Pro A MVP honor, while he also led in assists. He was averaging a double-double per game last season with 13,3 points per game and 11,1 assists per game on a 41% shooting from the field.
He doesn’t such big numbers in Monaco this season (6,4 points and 6,7 assists per game), however, he does pace the game for the French squad. He also has a great impact on their defense stealing almost 2 balls per game (1,9). Cooper stepped up in the final game of the French Leaders Cup which Monaco won with Cooper being the MVP. He has shown that he can be a go-to guy when his teams need him.
Early Life
D.J. Cooper is born and raised in the “Windy City” (Chicago). He started playing basketball very early when he was only 7 years old.
In high-school, he started to draw national attention. It wasn’t long since he was named a McDonald’s All-America nominee and ranked as the 30th best player overall by ESPN.com for the class of 2009.
Some of the major Colleges tried to recruit Cooper, but he decided to go to Ohio University.
Ohio was lucky to grab him, as he showed his talent from Day 1. In his freshman year, he averaged 13.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.5 steals per game. In his second year, he was even better. He broke his own school record for assists (263), while his 7.5 assists-per-game average ranked third nationally.
He stayed in Ohio for four years completing the whole school program and he wrote a history. It was March 5th in 2013 when Cooper scored 24 points at Buffalo to become the only player in the history of college basketball to record 2,000 points, 900 assists, 600 rebounds and 300 steals in a career.
Professional Career and road to Europe
Despite the great numbers Cooper put up in his College career he didn’t get drafted in the 2013 NBA draft. His lack of size (1.83 m.) pushed some NBA scouts away.
He knew that Europe would be his best option after it, so he signed with PAOK in Greece, where he had an immediate impact.
After a season with PAOK, he played for Enisey, Panathinaikos, Krasny Oktyabr, AEK Athens, but also for Pau-Orthez, BCM Gravelines and AS Monaco in France. It’s the France where he feels most similar to Chicago.
“I started playing in Greece, which is a nice place. The basketball is at a high level. I played also in Russia for two years. It was nice as well. It looks cold but the team made it nice too. France is nice overall, in general. Among all the countries I played in, France is the most Americanized. The North of France is a low different, but it’s more like Chicago”, he tells 3ptshot.
Monaco and Cooper are one step away from reaching the Final-Four of the Basketball Champions Leauge. Last year they were stopped by Banvit in the semi-final. This year the French team is aiming the finale game and with a help from D.J. Cooper, they are moving in the right direction.
Photo credit: BCL