Cooper Selected First-Team All-American By D3hoops.com

James Cooper

» 2007-08 D3hoops.com All-America Team

» 2007-08 National Association of Basketball Coaches All-America Team

In conjunction with the NCAA Div. III Tournament “Final Four” this past weekend, a couple of 2007-08 All-America Teams were announced, and earning a spot on each was James Cooper (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield South) of The College of Wooster as the senior shooting guard was a first-team All-American by D3hoops.com and a second-team All-American according to the National Assoc. of Basketball Coaches.

Cooper, who earlier was voted this season’s D3hoops.com Great Lakes Player of the Year by the region’s sports information directors and first-team all-district by the NABC, becomes the first in Wooster’s tradition-rich program to be a three-time All-American. D3hoops.com, which recognizes just 25 players on its annual All-America Teams, selected Cooper second-team in 2006-07 and honorable mention in 2005-06.

In 2007-08, Cooper produced his best season yet, averaging career highs in scoring (19.5 ppg) and rebounding (2.4 rpg) while passing out 2.0-plus assists (2.0 apg) for the third year in a row. Prior to his arrival, a Fighting Scot had never led a league in scoring (records date back to 1960), but Cooper finished as the North Coast Athletic Conference’s top scorer for the second time in his career. He did so in an efficient manner, shooting 53.5 percent from the field, 49.6 percent from 3-point range, and 80.5 percent at the free throw line to rank fifth, first, and sixth in the NCAC in those respective categories. Defensively, Cooper nearly averaged a steal a game (0.9 spg).

For his career, Cooper scored 2,037 points – just the second in school history to reach the 2,000 milestone. He also ranked sixth at Wooster in scoring average (16.7 ppg), second in field goals made (753), first in 3-pointers made (241), second in 3-point percentage (.461), 10th in free throws made (290), eighth in free throw percentage (.808), and tied for second in games played (122).

Cooper was one of three seniors to play an integral role in leading the Fighting Scots to four outright conference championships – a first in team history and to a 105-17 record (.861) the last four years. This season, Wooster went 23-5 overall, winning the NCAC with a 15-1 mark, and then received an at-large bid into the NCAA Div. III Tournament.

At the Div. III “Final Four,” Washington University-St. Louis won its first national championship, defeating Amherst College in the finals. Wooster lost to Washington-St. Louis 79-74 in the first round of this year’s national tourney, which marked the Bears’ second-closest game during their march to the title. Last season, the Fighting Scots played both Amherst and Washington-St. Louis at the “Final Four.”