In terms of two-way athletes in the 2023 recruiting class, few prospects are as talented as four-star Kaden Cooper. His ability to put his head on the rim at both ends, as well as defend multiple positions, has college coaches buzzing about him.
Cooper spoke with Rivals about some top options as he enters the final stages of his recruitment.
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2023 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2025 Rankings: Top 40
Transfer Portal: Latest news
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IN HIS OWN WORDS
Gonzaga: “Really, their family culture and their love. The way they show love is just something different. They’re truly committed to each other as if they grew up together. I feel like their city takes a lot of pride in their team. You want all of their friends and family to come out and support, and the town that you’re playing in, they make it extravagant. I love the atmosphere that they have surrounding their team.”
Oklahoma: “It’s not far from my home, so that’s a big plus. They have a great program and I love their coaching staff. Their coaching staff is very dedicated to what they have going on there, they’re really trying to get something going. OU takes pride in all of their sports, which is big because it’s not just basketball that gets love, football gets love, track gets love, whatever sport it is. I feel like when basketball comes around that it’s big, it’s exciting, and everyone comes out to support.”
Kansas: “I like coach (Bill) Self. Coach Self is a smart guy and really knows what he’s talking about. I feel like he’s a great coach, he really knows how to run a team and gets them prepared for what they’re supposed to be doing to win. Kansas is a great school, it’s a big school, the atmosphere of their games are crazy. Of course, they just won the national championship, which is big, and they play both sides of the ball which is the key to basketball in my opinion.”
LSU: “I like LSU. They play fast, which is always a good thing in the SEC, I love the SEC. Their coaches, they’ve called me just about every day and talk about a lot of good things. I feel like LSU is a big development school, they bring guys in and develop them then send them off to where they need to get. I feel like with the coaches and the support that they have around the team, it would be inevitable for me not to get to the next level if I went there.”
Texas: “Texas is a great school, I feel like they have a lot more older guys on their team. They play very, very up-tempo, a little more aggressive than most teams. Texas is a great programs and coach (Chris) Beard is a great coach. I like him as a person and I feel like I can actually have real life conversations with him and talk about things other than just basketball. I just think he knows what he’s doing and he runs a great program, and they’re a great school.”
Alabama: “Coach (Nate) Oats is a different kind of coach. He’s very smart and knows the game really well. He knows what he wants to recruit as well. He just has that basketball knowledge, he knows everything when we talk about basketball and other things. He’s very to the point and answers all of my questions. I love the way he coaches, he coaches them to play very fast and it’s very beneficial in the SEC. They do well every year, I think, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
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RIVALS REACTION
Cooper has official visits set up for Kansas (Sept. 1), LSU (Sept. 8) and Alabama (Sept. 22). As his recruitment heads for the home stretch, Gonzaga has positioned itself nicely, but these three official visits could shake up the pecking order for the four-star wing.
