There are no scholarships available for the South Carolina men’s basketball team 2020-21, but the program is adding a player with college experience. Head coach Frank Martin announced on Wednesday afternoon Ford Cooper Jr., transferred from the state of Missouri, will join the team as an assistant.
“We also like to announce the addition of the Ford Cooper to our team,” said Martin. “After playing last year in Missouri, he turned down several scholarship offers to pay for his own ticket and be part of our program. We are very excited to have Ford join our team.”
Born in Charlotte, NC, Cooper Jr. was in action in 27 freshman games in 2019-20, when he averaged 1.2 assists per game for the Bears. He was listed at 6-3 and 175 pounds on the Missouri state list last season. Due to NCAA rules on transferring a Division I program for another, Cooper will not be eligible to play for Gamecocks this next season.
A Class 2019 candidate from United Faith Christian Academy, Cooper was rated a three-star recruit by 247Sports Composite and a four-star recruit (No. 144 overall) by 247Sports.
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Below is a recap of Cooper’s freshman season in Missouri State and his high school career, courtesy of his Missouri State player biography page.
2019-20
Played in 27 games as a true freshman with 5 starts … Posted 50 points, 26 rebounds, 31 assists and 13 points out of 3 … His ratio of 2.9 assist-to-turnover in MVC games was 3rd in the league (20 assists, 7 turnovers) … He was 8th among MVC freshmen in assists per game (1.15) … Made his first appearance in MVC Tournament in Indiana State game (3/9/20) … He fell on a left wing 3- pointer in Valpo (25/02/20) in his 25th appearance of the season … He got 5 assists in Drake (26/01/20) in an initial 32 minutes … He got 7 rebounds on starting vs. Valparaíso (23/01/20) with 2 steals … Won the second consecutive game in victory in Evansville (18/01/20) with 7 points, 3 assists and 5 rebounds, including 5 out of 5 on the foul line … He dropped 3 assists with 6 points in his first career start (1/15/20) against Bradley in a 26-minute appearance with 3 steals … He made his second 3-point basket in three games vs. UNI (11/1/20) … He had 2 assists and 3 points in Loyola (1/4/20) in 12- minutes allocation … He got 2 defensive rebounds and a steal in VCU (12/15/19 ) … Team leadership shared with 3 assists in victory over Arkansas State (12/11/19) … Had 2 assists the bank in victory over Mississippi Valley (12/06/19) … Played 22 minutes in the victory over Murray State (12/03/19) with 3 points, 2 assists and his first career block … He had an assist and 3 points in the 17-minute effort at LSU (29/11/19) ) … Dismissed 2 assists against Buffalo (11/24/19) at the Charleston Classic … He dropped a pair of 3- points in the win over St. Joseph’s (11/22/19) in Charleston with a theft. .. Hit a big 3-point ball against Miami (11/21/19) at the end of the first half in 9 minutes reserve appearance … He recorded a defensive rebound in an 8-minute mission at # 21 Xavier (11/15) / 19) … made a 17-minute appearance off the bench in his first first high school game (12/11/19) vs. Cleveland State. He knocked over a 3-point basket and posted an assist and a steal.
High school
After a three-year career in high school, Cooper was reclassified in the summer of 2019 to come to Missouri State … The four-star highlight played for coach Jeff McInnis and Team Charlotte at the Under Armor Association last summer preparatory … coming out of a junior preparation season that saw him lead coach Joshua Coley’s Falcons to a general record of 17-13 and a perfect 7-0 record in a conference game at the United Faith Christian Academy in Charlotte, NC , where he averaged 7.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists …. 247Sports.com and Rivals rated Cooper as a four-star recruit for the 2020 class and one of the top 100 players in the same class … played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Carmel Christian School in his hometown of Matthews, NC … He helped coach Byron Dinkins’ Cougars to a 24-4 record and state championship in 2017-18 … He had other offers and interests from Yale, Vanderbi lt and Boston University.