As many could predict, Atlanta Hawks second round draft selection Sharife Cooper has had a whirlwind of a week. After all, he reached his childhood dream by being selected by his hometown NBA franchise after one stellar year at Auburn University. Follow that with his introductory press conference, attended by many of the same local media personalities that covered him as a standout high school point guard at McEachern High School in Powder Springs, GA.
Next up for Cooper is packing for Las Vegas, NV where he will play for the Hawks in the NBA Summer League along with fellow 2021 draft mate Jalen Johnson.
But before Sharife heads out to the desert, he found a little time to sit down with Dukes and Bell to give the listeners a little insight into his journey to the NBA.
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After becoming the second true freshman in NCAA history to average 20 PPG, 8 AST (Trae Young was the first), Cooper said to Dukes and Bell that “the decision wasn’t hard”, to enter the 2021 NBA Draft.
Cooper went on to express to the guys that he hopes to help bring an NBA Championship home to the Hawks.
But before Sharife can become an NBA Champion, he might want to make sure he has won Cooper Family 1-on 1 Championship Title.
His sister, Te’a Omari Cooper is a guard for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, and we learned from his interview with Dukes and Bell that his dad, Omar plays one tough game of hoops also.
“He grabs, fouls, cheats, he do everything” explained Sharife when describing playing against his dad as recent as the very day before the 2021 draft.
As we said earlier, it’s been quite a week for Sharife.
Let’s hope Sharife doesn’t leave it all on the court out in Vegas, because it’s a safe bet that dad will be waiting for him when he returns.
You make it, you take it, and you have to win by 2!