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Former Auburn guard Sharife Cooper makes first NBA start for Wizards
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- Former Auburn guard Sharife Cooper makes first NBA start for Wizards
While the Auburn Tigers ' current men's basketball team continues its season in the NIT, a former guard made his first career start in the NBA on Thursday night. Former Tigers and current Washington Wizards guard Sharife Cooper made his first career start against the Detroit Pistons .
Despite the Wizards falling in defeat 117-95, Cooper had a solid game in his first start. He scored 13 points in the game and was six of eight from the floor. He did connect on one three-pointer as well. Cooper added seven rebounds and two assists during his 27 minutes played. Washington got off to a rough start, being outscored 35-14 in the first quarter. The Wizards are a struggling team this season with a 16-53 record and are currently 14th in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Thursday was a good opportunity for the team and Cooper to see what he is capable of in the starting lineup.
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Cooper has played well off the bench for the Wizards this season averaging 6.9 points and shooting 49.3%. On March 3rd, the Wizards faced the Houston Rockets , and Cooper scored 21 points in just 17 minutes of game time. He had a good month of February, averaging 9.4 points and scoring 18 twice.
Cooper's career at Auburn was just one season during the 2020-21 season, where he played in just 12 games. He missed a huge portion of the first half of the season due to questions around his eligibility. During those 12 games, he averaged 20.9 points per game and 8.1 assists. Cooper had five games of over 25 points or more and scored 26 in his debut versus LSU. He was named to the All-SEC Freshman team for that season.
The 2020-21 Auburn Tigers basketball team was the last one before this season to not make the NCAA Tournament. The team ended the season with a 13-14 record, and the school placed Auburn on a one-year postseason ban due to Chuck Person's connection to a corruption scandal. Cooper would be drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft. He would also play for the Cleveland Cavaliers G-League team, the Cleveland Charge, and in Europe before making it back to the NBA.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Former Auburn guard Sharife Cooper makes first NBA start
