Rodney Cooper Shares What He Learned During His Time at Alabama and Why Nate Oats' Analytics Are Changing the Game
Rodney Cooper, a former Alabama basketball standout from 2011-2015, remembers watching Selection Sunday back in 2012 and the feeling that came over him when the Crimson Tide was announced as a No. 9 seed set to play Creighton in the NCAA tournament.
"Me, Levi [Randolph] and the other freshman on the team looked at it like, 'We are going to be doing this every year,'" Cooper said on the All Things Bama Podcast. "We like winning."
Unfortunately for Cooper and the Crimson Tide, that was the only NCAA tournament appearance during his time in Tuscaloosa. During his sophomore year, Alabama finished 23-13 and was snubbed at a shot at the Big Dance.
Cooper started 33 games that season and averaged 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds to help lead Alabama to a NIT quarterfinal.
However, he'll never forget the electricity and unreal atmosphere from playing in that NCAA-tournament setting, where Alabama dropped a heart-breaker 58-57 to the Blue Jays.
"We probably should have made it my sophomore year, and on top of that, we never made it back," Cooper said. "Me and Levi talk about it all the time. You definitely want to cherish those moments because they come far and few at times. But it was just a different experience when they called our name and you feel the emotions on the court and in the air. It's a way different vibe than any SEC game, for sure."
Cooper, a Hurtsboro, Ala. product, was one of the bright spots during coach Anthony Grant's final years in Tuscaloosa and finished with 1,122 points, which is good for 41st in program history, and played in 131 games all-time, which is good for fifth all-time.
His best campaign came as a senior when he averaged 11.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and nearly one steal a game. He was also named Most Outstanding Defensive Player on that 2014-2015 Crimson Tide squad.
Cooper says he is very fond of his time spent with Grant, who is now at Dayton and won Naismith Coach of the Year in 2020, and learned many valuable lessons from him.
"Control what you can control," Cooper said. "That's something he always talked about and he made sure he pushed my limits. Like he really did push my limits to where he wanted nothing but the best from me. I take a lot of those lessons from college and put it into business and life now."
Fast forward six years later and Cooper is still extremely close to the program and has been able to relish in the product that coach Nate Oats has been able to put on the floor with a high-flying offensive system that has lead to the school's first Southeastern Conference regular-season title in 19 years.
"20-plus easy," Cooper said with a laugh of what he would be averaging if he had the chance to play in Oats' offense. "Me and Oats talk about it all the time and he says, 'Coop, imagine if you were playing in this offense.'"
Cooper says that the analytics behind Oats' philosophy are going to help make way for a deep tournament run later this month.
"[Oats] understands the game and he is an analytics guy for sure," Cooper said. "We were shooting pool one time and he pulled out this stat sheet and showed me their points per possession. He showing me how the numbers show that it's more efficient to score in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock than the last 10 seconds. He really understands that if you score early enough if the offense, you are more likely to get offensive rebounds which create kick-outs for open threes and when you drive and kick every possession it's really hard to guard. That's what I love seeing them do."
Oats' style is very reminiscent of what the NBA is teaching in its developmental league, Cooper added.
"The mid-range jumper is gone completely," Cooper, who had a short stint with the Maine Red Claws in the G-League, said. "When I was with the Rockets' G-League team, in training camp I would have so many pull-up jumpers. They were like, 'No, drive and kick.' It was either a layup or a three-pointer. It makes sense. They are playing to the strengths of the percentages."
After his professional career where he also saw time in Hungary and Mexico, Cooper is now succeeding in the business of sales and in the process of starting his own podcast that will feature former and current Alabama players to talk about life and what has shaped them throughout their careers.
His show will be called "Locker Room Talk with Coop" and available on all platforms in the near feature.
"I'm really excited to get that going," Cooper added. "Different athletes from Alabama are going to be able to tell their stories and give advice to the youth. I really feel like it is going to be beneficial to the Alabama fanbase. The three things that I'm harping on with this show is that I entertain, inform and inspire the next generation."
