The first one-and-done in Auburn basketball history just reached a new career-high in points, and his former teammate and fellow Auburn Tiger was there to see it. Sharife Cooper made his way to see the Cleveland Cavaliers face the Phoenix Suns, and Isaac Okoro dropped 32 points to thank his friend for coming.
Though Okoro has had a bit of an up-and-down rookie season, but according to Cavs Nation Coach Bickerstaff thinks Okoro shows a lot of promise despite early criticism. The Cavs’ head coach has high hopes for the former Auburn Tiger, but thinks he just needs time:
"“I think it’s easy to criticize. But it’s premature to pass judgment and expect him to already be a polished or finished product playing against the best players on the planet. We have high hopes for Isaac.”"
The No. 5 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Okoro is averaging 9.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting at 42.9% from the field and 29.5% from beyond the arc. Sharife Cooper, former Auburn basketball point guard, was present to watch his former high school teammate’s career night.
Okoro dropped 32 points with six assists and went 10/16 on field goals, 3/4 on three-pointers, and 9/9 behind the free-throw line. He also scored the game-tying bucket to send the Cavs and the Suns into OT. Cooper shared this video to his Instagram story, per Overtime:
“Always cramping yo... since we was kids” 😭
— Overtime (@overtime) May 5, 2021
Sharife pulled up to the Cavs game and Isaac Okoro dropped a CAREER HIGH 32 points 🤞@isaacokoro303 (via @SharifeCooper) pic.twitter.com/WsCD7giipA
Both Okoro and Cooper hail from Powder Springs, GA, where they were high school teammates at McEachern. Okoro, along with Babatunde Akingbola, began what is commonly referred to as the McEachern Pipeline to Auburn in 2019. Following the pair came Sharife Cooper and Dylan Cardwell. The Atlanta area continues to be a wealth of basketball talent for the Tigers.
Cooper hopes to join Okoro in the NBA next season and will take part in the 2021 NBA Draft later this year.