Freshman Producing For Sharks Basketball Team

Small forward Prince Cooper is having a productive freshman season for the Sharks men’s basketball team.

Cooper, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound small forward, is averaging 10.6 points and 6.6 six rebounds per game for the Sharks.

“Prince is probably the most efficient guy in our program. He does everything well,” said Head Coach Stephen Cowherd. “He makes good decisions, makes open shots, rebounds the ball. He is a really important piece to our team, and I wish he was coming back next year.”

Cooper, from the Freeport, Bahamas, started playing basketball when he was in the fifth grade.

He came to the United States when he was in the 11th grade, and attended high school at Piney Woods High School, in Mississippi, before being recruited for Miami Dade College by assistant Coach Kevin Ledoux.

Besides playing basketball in high school,  Cooper also played baseball and ran track and field. He also had the opportunity to play a summer with an amateur athletic union team called the Arkansas Wings.

With a stress fracture on his left foot, Cooper has not been able to practice and play as much as he used to, but is still able to condition. “Right now it is hurting a little, and I wont be as comfortable as I used to be,” Cooper said.

Despite being a freshman, Cooper has already signed to play for The University of Louisiana at Monroe, and become a Warhawk. Cooper hopes to double major in business management and kinesiology, and also hopes to one day play professional basketball.

But for now Cooper is concentrating on the Sharks current season (the team is 13-5) by contributing with rebounding and defensive.  

“We are a pretty good team. We run a lot, and we can shoot the ball pretty well,” Cooper said.  “I even think we can shoot the ball best in the state, to be honest. We are pretty competitive and I think we can win the league.”