Which school will land Cooper?

5-star recruit from McEachern High School, Sharife Cooper, is one of the most coveted guards in the country. Cooper led McEachern to a 7A state championship last season and dominated the Nike EYBL circuit this summer with AOT Running Rebels averaging 25.3 points, 8.6 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game. The senior is expected to make his college decision before the start of the high school basketball season. Here are few schools where Cooper could land:

Auburn: Auburn is the favorite to land Sharife Cooper. The War Eagles had an impressive Final Four run last season before falling to the 2019 NCAA champions. With Jared Harper leaving early for the NBA, Cooper could immediately fill the void at the point guard position. His game favors Harper’s as they are both undersized, dynamic in the open court, and shoot the ball exceptionally well from three-point distance. Additionally, teaming up with former high school and AAU teammates Isaac Okoro and Babatunde Akingbola could play a major factor in his decision. Head coach Bruce Pearl has a knack for landing top prospects from Georgia (Jared Harper, Bryce Brown, Chuma Okeke). Cooper might be the next top Georgia prospect that lands at Auburn.

Kentucky: Kentucky offered Cooper in September 2018. Coach Calapari has produced more NBA talent than any other program in the last decade. It’s hard to say no to Kentucky when you consider their history of NBA draft picks, media coverage, and overall culture. Kentucky has a trend of undersized, scoring point guards (Tyler Ulis, Eric Bledsoe, Quade Green). Cooper fits this trend as he posseses the ability the score at all three levels with ease. AAU teammate, Brandon Boston, committed to Kentucky earlier last week. In an interview with Rivals, Cooper discussed the possibility of teaming up with Boston at the next level. Boston and Cooper could team up at Kentucky and perhaps avenge their disappointing finish at Peach Jam.

UCLA: Don’t sleep on the team from out west. UCLA has great basketball history and tradition. Their system gives their point guards much freedom offensively, and as a result they have led the Pac-12 statistically in recent years (Lonzo Ball, Aaron Holiday, Jaylen Hands). Also, UCLA has a long history of producing point guards in the first round of the NBA draft. Don’t be surprised if Cooper schedules an official visit to UCLA in the upcoming months.

Other SEC schools: Cooper’s dynamic skillset at point guard favors the SEC and all coaches in the conference have taken notice. Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M have all offered. Cooper could look at the success of Collin Sexton at Alabama and lean in that direction or could follow in the footsteps of Anthony Edwards at Georgia and build an in-state powerhouse. The SEC still offers Cooper attractive options outside of Auburn and Kentucky, even though he will most likely commit to one of the two powerhouses.