D2CCA Men's Basketball All-American Release
Courtesy of Brad Monastiere, Hillsdale College Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations and Event Management
Kyle Cooper will have a spot on the All-American wall inside Hillsdale College's sports complex.
Cooper was named Second-Team All-American by the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association Monday afternoon. Cooper is the third Charger to earn All-American honors in the past five years, joining former players Brad Guinane and Tim Dezelski in this exclusive club.
Sports information directors across NCAA Division II are responsible for nominating and voting for players to the D@CCA All-American teams.
The GLIAC and Midwest Region Player of the Year, Cooper will also play in the Division II All-Star game in Frisco, Texas this weekend as part of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight Tournament.
Cooper was one of just four frontcourt players to make the First or Second Team in voting that was dominated by guards. He was also one of just two players from a Midwest Region program to be named to any of the D2CCA All-American teams, joining Notre Dame College's Tyree Gaiter.
A 6-foot-7 forward, Cooper averaged 22.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in 2015-16, leading the Chargers to an 18-10 record. He shot 55.9 percent from the floor, 86.8 percent from the free throw line and 44.1 percent from 3-point territory. He was the only player in all of NCAA Division II to rank in the nation's top 40 in scoring, rebounding and free throw percentage. He recorded 17 double-doubles and helped lead Hillsdale to the semifinals of the GLIAC Tournament.
Cooper produced two 40-point games in the 2015-16 season and six games of 30 or more points. He finished 11th on the school's career scoring list, but his 632 points this season were the most scored by any Hillsdale College player in 27 years and the fifth-most in a season in school history. Cooper's 274 rebounds were the eighth-most in school history and the most by any Hillsdale player in 29 seasons. Only Bud Acton, in 1965-66, had a season in program history with as many points and rebounds as Cooper had in 2015-16.
Before the 2011-12 season, the Chargers never had a Division II All-American men's basketball player. Since then, coach John Tharp has produced three of them, while three others, Ian Sheldon, Nick Washburn and Tony Gugino, went on to play professional basketball in Europe. All three of those players are still active in their pro careers, as is Dezelski.
