Sports
Cooper To Play Professionally In Greece
< < Back to cooper-play-professionally-greeceD.J. Cooper has signed with Paok BC, a professional basketball club located in Thessaloniki, Greece, his agent Mike Naiditch said Monday afternoon. The former Ohio guard joins Ivo Baltic and Reggie Keely as members from the 2013 Ohio men’s basketball class to continue their basketball careers overseas.
“Paok will participate in the Greek championship as well as the Eurocup, a highly competitive league which includes top teams throughout Europe,” Naiditch said via email. “Paok has a well-established reputation, having won multiple Greek and European championships in the 90’s.”
Before signing with Paok BC, Cooper chased the NBA dream, participating in five pre-draft workouts, but never heard his name called on draft night.
Ohio’s all-time leader in assists and steals played with the Philadelphia 76ers in the Orlando Summer League, where he scored six points in 14 minutes of playing time. He only played in one of the three games for Philadelphia.
Cooper played three games for Golden State in the Las Vegas Summer League, where he averaged 8.6 minutes a game and scored zero points. He didn’t play in the final three games for the Warriors.
Cooper had an offer from the New York Knicks following summer league, but turned down the opportunity because they “could not offer enough of a financial guarantee in order to tip the scales in their favor.”
Naiditch said his client will depart for Greece this week.