When the Atlanta Hawks drafted Sharife Cooper late in the second round of the 2021 NBA draft, there was a level of positivity around the selection. He was a quality point guard whose 3-point shot was suspect but had a reputation as being one of the hardest workers in his draft class.
The problem is that Cooper is now stuck between two teams, which is the role of a two-way player. However, this is making it very difficult for the rookie to figure out where his game sits within the franchise which is a problem that the Hawks need to help solve.
However, in the meantime, Cooper is no longer the first-choice point guard of the College Park Skyhawks since Cat Barber took over running the team. Despite the loss against the Motor City Cruise, the Skyhawks have been winning more games since the Virginia native took over the team.
The Atlanta Hawks need to help Sharife Cooper out of his struggles
It seems that Cooper cannot take a trick at the moment. He has had a few bad games where he had a negative impact on the box score. Then in the last game, he was barely able to take the court without committing a foul. He had four early in the second quarter and picked up his fifth just after the second half started.
As stated earlier, Cooper is an incredibly hard worker, which could be part of the problem. His desire to be the best may have him over-playing on possessions and as we are all aware, the difference between a good defensive play and a foul is minuscule.
It is not that the Hawks need to stop playing Cooper, they need to give him a role which he can sink his teeth into on both offense and defense that suits him and he can get comfortable with. After he has mastered this role, he can start adding more responsibilities to his game