ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks might have got the steal of the draft on Thursday night when they landed point guard Sharife Cooper in the second round with the 48th pick.
The Auburn point guard was considered a first-round talent on many draft boards, and instantly brings serious talent to a role – backing up Trae Young – the Hawks have had difficulty solidifying the past couple seasons.
Also, for good measure: Cooper is a hometown kid. He’s a Powder Springs native who went to McEachern High School, and he’s clearly happy to be with the hometown Hawks. 11Alive was at his draft party on Thursday night, and captured the reaction of Cooper and his family when the draft broadcast announced he would be staying in Atlanta.
On his Instagram Cooper posted simply: “ATL waddup!!!”
The Hawks’ selection of Cooper got a huge endorsement from none other than Young himself, as well.
After scoring over 20 points per game for Auburn last season as a freshman, Cooper will bring some much-needed bench scoring juice to the Hawks.
National sports outlets like The Ringer described Cooper heading into the draft as an “intelligent floor general” and “one of the best passers in the draft.”
What he’ll need to work on is his shot – he hit only 22.8% of his threes in his one college season, despite taking nearly five of them a game. Scouting reports have indicated he has solid touch on his shot, though, and his 82.5% free throw percentage suggests he can bring things around.
In the meantime, Cooper will be soaking in the hometown love.