Sharife Cooper

BIOGRAPHY

Sharife Cooper was born on June 11, 2001, in Newark, New Jersey. He is a point guard in the NBA. Cooper attended McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia. He was named USA Today All-USA Player of the Year, MaxPreps National Player of the Year, Mr. Georgia Basketball, and Georgia's Gatorade Player of the Year. He also earned USA Today All-USA first team and Naismith All-American second team honors. Cooper was selected to play in the 2020 McDonald's All-American Boys Game on January 23, 2020. On May 6, 2021, Cooper's #2 high school jersey number was retired at McEachern where he was honored as the most decorated male basketball player in school history. On September 27, 2019, Cooper committed to play college basketball for Auburn. He became the highest-ranked recruit and the second five-star recruit in program history. Cooper missed the first 12 games of his freshman season due to a National Collegiate Athletic Association investigation into his eligibility. During that time, he explored professional options. On January 9, 2021, he made his Auburn debut, recording 26 points, nine assists and four rebounds in a 94–90 loss to Alabama. Four days later, Cooper posted a season-high 28 points, 12 assists and five rebounds in a 95–77 win over Georgia. As a freshman, he averaged 20.2 points, 8.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game through 12 appearances, earning Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team honors. After the season, Cooper declared for the 2021 NBA draft and chose to forgo his remaining eligibility.

Cooper was drafted 48th by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 NBA Draft.