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Topic: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Topic: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

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Bobcatzblitz
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D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 3:15:48 AM

I think another win puts him smack in the top spot. A 144 pound freshman just a few years ago he has put OHIO on his back. Love this interview he pays homage and says hey its not an upset we have a really good team!
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/54476/its-business-as-usual-for-ohio-cooper

Bobcatzblitz
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 3:18:35 AM

Ohio point guard D.J. Cooper: We can play with any team in this tournament

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/stewart_mandel/03/17/ohio.michigan.ncaas/index.html#ixzz1pM8ZAxnB

Bobcatbob
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 7:45:05 AM

Definitely in the discussion but there are a few guys who can make a case. Let's not forget Gary Trent for one and I'm always going to stand up for Frankie Baumholtz and Jerry Jackson - its my age, you see.

Kevin Finnegan
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 8:39:12 AM

Reading the quotes in those articles and many others, Groce and Cooper have a very significant bond. They truly seem to care for each other and there is a great deal of love between the two men. I cannot see Groce leaving before he has a chance to see the entire Cooper tenure through.

MonroeClassmate
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 8:52:16 AM

Speaking of quotes, how about DJ's shout out to the MAC East cohorts: (yahoo)

Then again, Cooper pointed out this wasn’t the first time a school from Ohio’s division has done this to a major-conference program.

“We feel the MAC East is really very strong,” Cooper said. “The West isn’t as strong, but the East has had some pretty good wins this year with Akron beating Mississippi State and Kent beating West Virginia. And this one tonight.”

Pretty cool operator to have just come off a big win in an interview and be able to recite facts about the guys you have to battle two or three times per season.

perimeterpost
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 9:04:22 AM

its easy to see why Groce tried to recruit Trey Burke, he's a talented guard, but its funny to think that ultimately Burke chose Michigan over OHIO because he could start as a freshman at Michigan but not at OHIO.

How good is Cooper? The Big Ten FOY is only good enough to be his back up.

In Coop We Trust.

MY STATE. MY TEAM.

Bobcatzblitz
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 11:45:25 AM

LOL..Burke wouldve been on the court with Cooper had he chose Ohio..don't kid yourself. They are 2 of the top guards in the country hands down and lucky for us Cooper had the upper hand tonite.

Donuts
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 1:41:49 PM

perimeterpost wrote:

False. Flat out false.

Big Willy
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 8:03:54 PM

Cooper is great, but let me know when he wins three MAC Player of the Year awards in a row.

bobcat28
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 8:51:27 PM

Individually Trent was better.

But from a team perspective, the ability to make everyone else around him better, and just flat out winning, DJ is the best player we've ever had. This tournament solidifies it, his jersey will hang from the rafters when all is said and done. And he deserves it.

brucecuth
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 9:17:33 PM

While he may have made an unofficial visit here, I assure you Trey Burke never seriously considered coming to Ohio, and thus never "chose Michigan over Ohio."

Best player ever? Trent. 'nuff said.

Last Edited: 3/17/2012 9:20:44 PM by brucecuth

OhioCatFan
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 9:48:10 PM

I started watching Ohio basketball on a serious level in my junior year in high school -- 1960. Here's my list of the ten best players I've seen in that time (not in any particular order):

Bill Whaley
Bunk Adams
John Canine
Don Hilt
Walter Luckett
Greg McDivitt
Howard Jolliff
Mike Haley
Gary Trent
DJ Cooper

It's really hard to say which of these was the best. They were all exceptionally good basketball players. And, though, he was before my time, I heard all kinds of wonderful stories about the hardwood exploits of Frank Baumholtz.

The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org

bobcat72
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 10:51:11 PM

To me, one of the biggest determinants of "best player" is wins and losses. While Trent was great, he only won 1 MAC Championship and 0 NCAA Tournament games. By the time Cooper is done, he may very well have 3 MAC Titles to his name - that is simply unreal.

OhioCatFan
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 10:53:07 PM

bobcat72 wrote:

Agreed . . . Mike Haley and Don Hilt on my list were on Ohio's only -- so far -- Elite 8 team.

Jeff McKinney
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 11:09:00 PM

OCF, the younger guys on this board tend to overlook the guys from earlier eras and with them, the 90s and later are overrepresented on the lists of best Ohio players.

But wouldn't you say that your list might overrepresent the 60s and 70s a little?

OhioCatFan
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 11:18:23 PM

Jeff McKinney wrote:

Well maybe, but until very recently those were the years of our best teams. Teams that were nationally ranked, beat nationally ranked opponents and sometimes advanced in the NCAA tourney. Danny Nee had some good teams, but had what -- two post-season victories, one NCAA and one NIT. Larry Hunter had some good years with Trent, but other than the pre-season NIT championship what great laurels did we win? As with a previous poster, I do weight my choices some on the basis of how well the team they played on did. Now, this is not always fair, take my beloved Ernie Banks, one of the best baseball players ever, yet his team never won a pennant. So, you can question the wisdom of my picks, but it's not entirely on the basis of old-fartism.

FearLeon
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/17/2012 11:59:37 PM

bobcat28 wrote:

This tournament solidifies it, his jersey will hang from the rafters when all is said and done. And he deserves it.

You are correct. Hopefully, DJ gets his degree from OHIO to make sure this happens sooner than later.

Last Edited: 3/18/2012 12:23:09 AM by FearLeon

#BleedGreen #TrentIsGOAT

Bobcat110
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/18/2012 6:50:12 AM

Nice DJ article....the fact that DJ was recruited by "about a dozen " major schools AFTER the Georgetown win despite NCAA regulations is not surprising, but reflects the sleazy side of college sports. I remember rumors that Michigan was trying to get Trent to transfer after his freshman year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/sports/ncaabasketball/n...

wellstoncat
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/18/2012 8:22:14 AM

bobcat72 wrote:

Wins and loses will tell you the best team. You can have greatest player ever without a good team around him the wins will not come. I'm all for DJ being one of best but not the best ever based on wins. I have to say best i have seen has to be Trent.

nut up or shut up woody harrelson

brucecuth
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/18/2012 9:33:01 AM

another nice d.j. piece, this time from USA Today...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/sto...

KC Bobcat
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/18/2012 1:43:00 PM

Jeff McKinney wrote:

Jeff: I think John Deveraux, Dave Jamerson, Snoop Graham and Brandon Hunter might agree with you.

OUVan
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/18/2012 2:51:43 PM

KC Bobcat wrote:

Jeff McKinney wrote:

Jeff: I think John Deveraux, Dave Jamerson, Snoop Graham and Brandon Hunter might agree with you.

and Tim Joyce and Steve Skaggs.

Can't fully argue with his list since I didn't see any of them play (other than Trent and Cooper) but it seems a little fossil (as my wife calls me) heavy.

Last Edited: 3/18/2012 2:54:53 PM by OUVan

OUVan
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/18/2012 2:57:47 PM

As for whether DJ is the best player ever at Ohio it's hard to prove that claim but he is definitely in the discussion. One thing is for certain, when he leaves the school he will leave it with the most postseason wins ever by a Bobcat (tied with Reggie Keely and Ivo Baltic). Even if you want to throw out the CIT he is at worst tied with the 1964 team.

perimeterpost
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/18/2012 3:59:55 PM

don't know if he's the greatest but he's one of my personal favorites.

I think if you want to judge greatness you have to look at the following categories-

School Records- Is he at the top or near the top in multiple statistics, both single season and career, with importance weighted based on position?

Conference Awards- How does he compare vs his peers in conference? How many awards for FOY, POY, All MAC, and MAC Tourney MVP?

Wins- How many total wins? How many MAC regular season championships? MAC Tourney championships? Tournament wins- preseason, conference, and post season.

Intangibles- Was he a leader, did his teammates respect him? Did he make his teammates better? Did he dominate his conference peers? Did he stay out of trouble? Did he represent OHIO well?

Academics- Did he stay out of trouble academically and graduate?

I think DJ will have enough success to make the argument statistically to be one of the greatest, but if he can lead us to 3 NCAA tourney appearances in 4 years (or run deep this year) then I would say he was the greatest.

Last Edited: 3/18/2012 4:00:28 PM by perimeterpost

MY STATE. MY TEAM.

OhioCatFan
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RE: D.J Cooper Best Ohio Player Ever!!

Posted: 3/18/2012 4:30:04 PM

I could have easily included Jamerson; he was my "last man out" and would have made my "top 11." Now, IF Ohio wins two more NCAA games, I'd have to say this year's starting five would be right up there with Ohio's "Fab Five of '64" -- Jerry Jackson, Charlie Gill, Sr., Paul Storey, Mike Halley and Don Hilt. Call me a fossil (my kids do), but until proven otherwise on the court, this is Ohio's best team ever. I truly hope we can take care of business tonight and then pull the BIG upset next week to make it into the Elite 8. That's what the '64 team did. An interesting note about the '64 team's victory over UK is that we were really the more talented team and probably would have won that game eight out of ten times. It wasn't a fluke. The reason being is that we were an integrated squad and UK was "lily white." Our forwards, both African Americans, simply dominated UK in all aspects of the game. I believe that the Athletic Department still has film of this game. I hope they digitized it. It ought to be available for folks to see online. This also brings to mind something else that's been going through my head recently. I'm seeing some similarities between this team and some of Snyder's better teams. The big ones are the emphasis on defense and the degree of team play. There's also an intangible that I can't actually put into words, but there's a similarity in philosophy and approach to the game, except JG is much more animated than Snyder.

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