Cooper delivered one of the best pure point guard performances of the day, doing an excellent job of spreading the ball around and keeping all of his teammates involved. A bigger lead guard with a good first step and strong court vision, he understands how his penetration opens the floor for everyone around him and routinely picked out open shooters. CBA is expected to be among the Garden State’s top programs this season, and its offensive attack will begin with Cooper.

CBA was one of a handful of North Jersey programs to make the trip down to Philly and played one of the games of the weekend in a nail-biting loss to Hill School (PA) on Saturday afternoon. Cooper impressed at the helm of the Colts’ offense, putting on a clinic with his ability to pick the defense apart out of pick-and-roll action. The junior floor general routinely set up his bigs for easy looks at the rim while using his speed and tight handle to get to his spots off the bounce when he wanted. Cooper’s size and slight frame still give him some overall limitations but his ability to orchestrate an offense may be second to none across the state.

Izayah Cooper Izayah Cooper 6'0" | PG Christian Brothers | 2028 State NJ has the makings of a reliable pass first lead guard, combining ball security, poise against ball pressure, and advanced playmaking instincts. Cooper does a good job keeping the ball on a string and his ability to dissect a defense showed up in a variety of ways— keeping his eyes up when attacking and maintaining his court vision to see passing windows before they open, and controlling the tempo deciding when to push the ball fast in transition or slow things down into a deliberate half court set, all highlighted commitment to running offense and keeping possessions organized.

Cooper had a big sophomore season for the Colts and should have an even bigger junior season. The 6’0 guard has a tight handle, which he uses to blow by his defender off the bounce and is unafraid of drawing contact. Cooper threads passes to his teammates in the half court and makes opponents pay for giving him space behind the arc. He is a tough on-ball defender and can also score in the mid-range. Cooper is a gritty guard prospect who should make plays at both ends of the floor throughout the course of the season.

Counterintuitive to his typical playmaking responsibilities where he orchestrates the offense and gets his teammates the ball in the right spots, a lot of the action called for Cooper to score the basketball and he more than delivered. Proving to be a legitimate threat to score the basketball, Cooper’s shot making stood out the most— knocking down a number of in rhythm perimeter looks both as a spot up shooter, with deep range accuracy too, off the ball and off the dribble in different PnR and DHO action(s) while also excelling as a movement shooter coming some of similar ball screens. A constant threat to generate ample paint touches and generate offense from there, Cooper also converted on a handful of soft touch floaters in the lane showcasing his touch in the in between area. Still keeping the defense honest and leveraging a lot of the pressure he saw as he found a rhythm offensively, Cooper still found ways to manipulate the defense as a facilitator— using his court vision to locate open shooters in passing windows and find cutters ahead in transition before the defense was able to get set.

Izayah Cooper Izayah Cooper 6'0" | PG Christian Brothers | 2028 State NJ has all the qualities of a pass first point guard that you trust in running the show offensively— particularly in his ability to keep the ball on a string when handling it against pressure, unselfish facilitation, and the court vision to dissect defenses. Cooper stood out in the ways he was consistently able to locate open shooters out on the perimeter, feed his bigs the ball in the low post and hit them when running to the rim in the open floor, and even find cutters in different half court actions. All while remaining a threat to score with the ball in his hands— converting on soft touch runners in the lane and shooting it with efficiency from three point range, knocking down shots off the catch and tough perimeter pull ups.

Cooper isn’t the most shifty on-ball creator but he was still able to set the table by always playing at the right speed. He also manipulated defenders with his eyes and ball fake, then zipped the ball to whoever was open. But his team needed him to score and he did so from deep. Cooper knocked down multiple threes, spotting up and off the catch to space the floor and force defenders to guard him honestly.

Every bit of the definition of a pass first point guard who’s distinctive in setting up others, Izayah Cooper Izayah Cooper 6'0" | PG Christian Brothers | 2028 State NJ stood out with intangibles as an unselfish ball handler. Paring that mindset with a tight handle and composure against ball pressure while keeping his head up all times,  Cooper approached the game with a commitment to keeping the ball moving offensively, particularly with look aheads in transition advancing the ball up the floor and making the extra pass in the half court to pass up good looks for great looks.

A legitimate pass first point guard with impressively nice feel for the game who rarely ever lets ball pressure speed him up when tasked with handling the basketball, Izayah Cooper Izayah Cooper 6'0" | PG Christian Brothers | 2028 State NJ ‘s performance over the weekend was without a doubt highlighted by his impressive court vision and tremendous passing feel. A trustworthy decision maker, Cooper made a lot of strong reads with the ball in his hands, ones that support the belief in trusting him to routinely initiate and orchestrate offense— keeping his vision in the open floor finding cutters cutting to the basket and locating open shooters out on the perimeter, hitting rollers when navigating ball screens in PnR action(s). All while shooting the three ball at a fairly efficient clip and showcasing his soft outside shooting touch.

Izayah Cooper Izayah Cooper 6'0" | PG Christian Brothers | 2028 State NJ embodies the definition of an unselfish playmaker, combining high level feel for the game with outstanding court vision while continuing to display the qualities you want in a reliable floor general. Cooper has impressed with the composure he’s played with so far this spring as both a ball handler and offensive facilitator, consistently breaking down defenses and creating quality looks for teammates in a variety of ways. He consistently keeps his eyes up in transition showcasing strong court vision and displaying creativity as a passer by making the right reads and prioritizing opportunities for teammates. Cooper’s also impressed creating paint touches off the dribble and emphasizing getting others involved throughout the game. 

Although official offers have not came in just yet, things could change within Cooper’s recruitment, especially if he continues to himself as a point guard with glaring unselfish feel for the game.