When the Atlanta Hawks took Sharife Cooper in the second round of the 2021 NBA draft, they knew that they had selected one of the hardest workers in his class. Unfortunately for Cooper, he has come to a team whose coach historically does not play rookies a great deal.
As a result, the two-way player has been a man between two teams and this has caused issues for the rookie. Much has been made of the impact of Cat Barber since he was promoted to the varsity squad during the Covid-19 crisis. This gave him the confidence to take over the point guard duties of the College Park Skyhawks, meaning that the Hawks had a Sharife Cooper problem.
However, since Barber has been out of the lineup, Cooper has been forced to take back the responsibilities of running the team and he has done well. He showed true grit in the last game against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and then showed that he would not go quietly in the second game.
Atlanta Hawks two-way player Sharife Cooper shone in the second game against the Mad Ants.
Cooper almost collected a triple-double in the second loss in a row to the Mad Ants. He had 33 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds in 42 minutes of game time. He also shot the ball well, going 13-of-26 from the floor, 4-of-9 from deep, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.
He did have seven turnovers in the game but can be slightly forgiven as he had the ball in his hands on offense for most of his time on the court. Unfortunately, the Skyhawks are missing Jalen Johnson due to another injury and Barber is also out meaning that the team is struggling to get a win again.
Cooper gave his team everything and had a zero impact on the box score in a game the Skyhawks ended up losing by nine points. When they get their players back, it is very likely that Cooper will find his role with the team and help them make a push into the playoffs.