The Hillsdale College basketball team has boasted many great players in its history. But none have had a season quite like senior forward Kyle Cooper had this year — on and off the court.
Cooper was named GLIAC Player of the Year by GLIAC coaches on Monday and the D-II Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year by the College Sports Information Directors of America on Wednesday in recognition of his outstanding performance in the GLIAC and in the classroom.
“Kyle epitomizes what it means to be a student athlete, and we’re really just proud of him and all of the guys are happy for him because he represents what college athletics are supposed to be about. Kyle Cooper is the poster child of that,” Hillsdale basketball head coach John Tharp said. “He’s a tremendous player, and a very humble kid.”
Cooper led the GLIAC in scoring with 22.8 points per game and was second in rebounding with 9.7 rebounds per game. He shot 45.3 percent from 3-point territory, the best percentage in the GLIAC, and scored 40 or more points twice and reached the 30-point plateau six times. An accounting major, he has a 3.88 GPA.
“It’s just a huge honor and it feels mostly like a culmination of a career,” said Cooper , who is Hillsdale’s first recipient of the GLIAC Player of the Year award in 32 years. “But more than anything I think it’s just a product of playing for a coaching staff that runs an offense that is able to utilize what I’m best at and playing with teammates that are willing to sacrifice, give me the ball when I’m open, and set screens.”
“As much as it is an individual award, to me it’s really a team award,” he said.
After playing under the shadow of Tim Dezelski in his freshman and sophomore seasons, Cooper emerged as Hillsdale’s top offensive option in the 2014-15 season when he averaged 20.5 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game.
“He’s been doing this for two years. It hasn’t been just one year that he’s had this responsibility. He’s had it for two years,” Tharp said.
Cooper also credits senior point guard Zach Miller, who he has played alongside for all four years.
“I’ve been blessed to play with Zach,” Cooper said. “Zach is the best point guard that I’ve ever been on a team with and his court vision has led to me getting a lot of easy baskets.”
Miller is happy for his teammate, and said that it’s Cooper’s defense that has lifted him and his team to new heights
“He deserves it. He works hard, had an unbelievable year, and he’s our go-to guy,” Miller said. “A lot of people don’t realize that his defense this past month has really picked up a notch, and I think that’s helped us because I think everybody else’s defense has followed suit. When you’ve got your best player locking down, it helps all of us, and that’s been a key part to winning games.”
Cooper will play in his first GLIAC semifinals of his career on Saturday. A win puts the Chargers into the GLIAC championship game, while a loss likely ends his collegiate career. Cooper plans to play professional basketball in Europe after graduation, but he doesn’t want to start worrying about that yet.
“I’m just trying to keep my college career going for as long as I can,” Cooper said.
