Guard Kaden Cooper poised to make a big jump

Kaden Cooper is currently unranked by Rivals, but that will change quickly in the next update. The 2023 guard was one of the standouts at the 17U level at the first 3SSB circuit stop in Indianapolis. He plays violently at both ends, attacking every possession.His jumper was promising and his ability to lock down the other team’s best player on the defensive end can’t be understated.

Cooper projects as one of the best two-way perimeter players in the class. Over the last two weeks his recruitment has started to pick up, with familiar faces pushing hard and new schools coming to the table.

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2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2023 Rankings: Rivals150

2024 Rankings: Top 40

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THE LATEST: "I’ve got a person that works with me, and he told me that I’m receiving new interest from Maryland, TCU, West Virginia, Kentucky, G-League, Kansas, Oregon and Butler.”

MAIN SCHOOLS INVOLVED: “LSU, Gonzaga, UConn, Kansas, Texas and Creighton.”

LSU: “They actually just came for an in-home visit. It was good. They had a little presentation for me and showed me the campus. They did an NBA player comparison video, where they had my clips and other guys. I compare myself to Mikal Bridges and Donovan Mitchell because they both play both sides of the ball. They had a video where they had my plays and theirs. We just talked about LSU, their foundation and their culture. Me and the coaches have a good bond going."

GONZAGA: “Gonzaga’s a great program. They love everything about me. I love that they’re family oriented. They love their players and they love their basketball program. They take pride in everything that they do. They’ve really just been touching base with me. Their coach has sent me some of my film and pointed out some of the things that I need to work on, things that he saw from the first live period. I feel like they’re interested, and I’m very interested in them.”

UCONN: “They’re an all-around team. They’re not like an unknown team and they do good every year. I feel like that’s a program, that if I went there, I could take them to another level. One of the goals that I have is that I want to lead a team to a national championship, and I really feel like I could do that at UConn.”

KANSAS: “They’re really solid. I mean, they just won the national championship. I feel like each year they have a solid team and everyone on the team always knows their roles. They play to the best of their ability. There’s never any confusion of who’s supposed to do what, whenever they’re on the court. The catch-and-shoot guys, they catch and shoot, rebounders crash the glass, and I just like teams where everyone knows what they’re supposed to do. Who wouldn’t want to be around a program with a bunch of success like that?”

TEXAS: “They play fast and they play up-tempo. Every year, Texas has dogs. They have guys that come out and want to play. Their program is also very successful. It’s a great school and a great culture to be a part of. They take a lot of pride in basketball.”

CREIGHTON: “Me and the Creighton coach actually formed a little bond before the first live period, so we got a couple of steps ahead. A kid I used to play against, Trey Alexander, he’s actually at Creighton. I feel like if me and him were on the same team, any team we played against, we’d give them hell. They take pride in their basketball. I was telling the coach that they’re one of the more underrated teams in all of college basketball.”

The Oklahoma native is going to be an instant fan favorite no matter where he decides to go because of his aggressiveness and motor.

Cooper really boosted his stock during the first weekend of the live period, and it’s shown with his recruitment, having received over a handful of offers within the last two weeks. Some of the offers include Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Kansas State, LSU, Texas Tech, and others. Watch for more schools to throw their hats into this recruitment going forward.