Cooper news is official ...

[KODK]

As we reported on Knucklehead Central last week, Lamina Cooper has signed her tender with Purdue. She sat out last season while recovering from the ACL tear she suffered at the end of her high school career. Like we said in our earlier report, Cooper will be with the Boilermakers this summer as she preps for what will be her true freshman season in 2016-17.

Here is the Purdue release ...

Purdue women’s basketball head coach Sharon Versyp announced the addition of Lamina Cooper to the Boilermakers 2016-17 freshman class Tuesday after signing her tender. Rated a five-star recruit and the No. 44 player in the nation by ESPN Hoop Gurlz, Cooper originally committed to Purdue as part of the 2015-16 incoming class, but postponed her enrollment due to personal matters.

Cooper starred at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, where she helped guide the Wildcats to a pair of 4A State Tournament semifinal games. She averaged 16.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a junior, and was near a double-double per game in her senior season before tearing her ACL in the state quarterfinals. Cooper earned first team all-state honors in 2013-14, honorable mention in 2012-13, and was a member of the Indiana Junior All-Stars core team in 2014.

Cooper will join the Boilermakers in June alongside former high school teammate Ae’Rianna Harris, and fellow incoming freshmen Miracle Gray and Dominique Oden. Cooper will have a full four years of eligibility with the Old Gold and Black.

 

[TC4THREE]

Good news. I wonder if this had been the plan all along when she did not enroll last fall.

 

[illiniboiler]

Certainly a huge get to keep Purdue in upper half of conference. Question for all BT teams: Can they compete with MD and OSU because those are the only two programs that have some national buzz. Perhaps MSU too?

 

[mathboy]

I see our recruiting improving. We are getting better players now. I am still cautious about calling this a trend based on a few data points. IMHO, next year's class will be critical to get us back in the conversation with OSU, MD and MSU.

I suspect that the dip in recruiting we saw in the men's game, and in FB have common cause with the dip in WBB recruiting. The timing is shifted off because I think the recruiting process in WBB is a longer term process required because we must build relationships to recruit.