Cooper is out.....

lost to Osseo 58-51 in the section finals. I'd be interested in a report if anyone out there was in attendance.

That sux i wanted to see a Royce Vs Rodney show down.

Rodney had 6 pts.

Section 5AAAA Championship at Rogers
Osseo 58, Cooper 51

OSSEO 30-28-58
COOP 21-30-51

OSSEO
John Rowland 5
DJ Phillips 8
Nick Djerf 16
Sam Dower 18
Jayvin Renyolds (?) 9
Chris McMorris 2

COOPER
Quincy Bethea 2
Freddie Burton 2
Rodney Williams 6
Kenquane Brown 21
Joe Bright 19

Osseo put the clamps on Rodney Williams and Cooper couldn't muster anything in response, losing 58-51 in the Section 5AAAA final at Rogers High School.

Osseo gets the tip, and on their second posession Rodney Williams gets called for goaltending. The next time down, Cooper would get 3 offensive rebounds but no bucket to show for it. That is the epitome of how things would go for the Hawks tonight. Quite bluntly, they couldn't handle propsperity. Sam Dower, big #35 for Osseo, is a force on the low block. He misses his own dunk, but is athletic enough to get his own putback. Lots of turnovers, Cooper trying to bring their athletic ability into play, but Osseo holding their ground and holding onto the ball. Cooper had a 12-11 lead at the 9 minute mark, but by the time they call time at 3:09, it's 28-17 Osseo with the Hawks throwing the ball away with abandon. Trade baskets to the intermission.

Coming out of halftime, Williams gets mugged hard twice. This finally sends him to the line, where the Osseo students are merciless. Among other things chanted at him while shooting was "Hit the weight room!" and "Tubby hates you!" Between everything Osseo is throwing at him, he's rattled and only goes 2/7 from the stripe, all in the second half. One exchange on and after a Williams FT sounded like this:

Osseo: "Overrated!"
Cooper: "Golden Gophers!"
Osseo: "In the tourney!"

This took place 4:30 into the second half with Osseo up 12. Given last night's theatrics in St. Cloud, saying Osseo was in the tourney at this point could have been a very big mistake. Then again, I couldn't hear the Cooper students (I was behind them on the other baseline), so what they actually said may or may not have been what I reported.

Cooper keeps jacking up bad shots, and can't make any of them. Osseo starts taking the air out of the ball, and is willing to wait until Dower springs himself loose for layups. The battering of Williams continues, with hassling on both ends and knocking him down on a pic. Osseo has had a 10-11 point lead all the way since half, and Cooper now trying to get into a steal-and-run game, almost breaking out a few times on steals. It seems to be rattling Osseo a bit, as Dower was called for leaving the spot of the inbound under their own basket. Next time down, DJ Phillips (Osseo PG) says something to the ref and gets T'd for his fifth foul. Between the T and Kenquane Brown (9 straight points after the T), Cooper finally wakes up. They get it to 54-50 Osseo with 1:35 to go, but Cooper PG Quincy Bethea gets called for a moving pic at 1:35, and that deflates the hawks. Unlike last night's choke job by Apollo, Osseo makes their free throws (11/14 in the second half by my sheet), and the Orioles win. The Rogers site staff had no better luck holding the Osseo students back than the SCSU staff did last night.

Cooper had to be dragged back onto the floor for the awards ceremony.

Osseo will likely be the #4 seed in the state 4A tournament next week.

I really wanted to see a Cooper - Hopkins re-match. A person could actually get a ticket if they played at a bigger venue, like Target Center. That stinks!!! I guess I will have to wait for Midnight (actually 9 p.m.) Madness to see these guys on the floor at the same time...

Osseo has to get the.....

3rd seed.......only 2 lossses. St. Cloud Tech will be 4.

I really wanted to see a Cooper - Hopkins re-match.

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I wouldn't have minded seeing it again, but I don't think the outcome would have been any different. Hopkins has too many horses for Cooper, and just about every team out there. The only team, that I've seen, that may be able to keep up with them is Sibley. They lost to Hopkins by 11 the first time around, but they turned the ball over 18 times in the first half alone, and were just 15-29 from the free throw line. If Sibley can play their best game, not turn the ball over, and make their free throws, they stand a fighting chance. But in my opinion, Cooper wasn't going to be able to play with Hopkins for a full game the second time around, either.

The story of the game was piss poor free throw shooting from Cooper. They must have shot 20% from the stripe (maybe 4 for 20).

After watching Rodney several times this year and especially last night, I have concerns over how productive he will be in a Gophers uniform. Yes he is an athletic freak, but against a good, not great, defense he is a completely out of sync and offers little to no production. For the past two years, Joe Bright has been the best player for Cooper. He does everything very well - tight defense, excellent passing, rebounding, and finishing. Personally, I would love to see him walk on for the Gophers...

Two for Seven ?????

Holy creepin' cat crap !! 2 for 7 from the stripe? That is worse than Spencer !

leftyslefty said:

3rd seed.......only 2 lossses. St. Cloud Tech will be 4.

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The way I saw it, the Cooper-Osseo game was for the 3rd seed.

ShowinGoldyLove said:

Rodney had 6 pts.

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That is horrible all he can do is dunk. He will need to develop a Jumper.

Big Play said:

That is horrible all he can do is dunk. He will need to develop a Jumper.

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I agree 100%. I really don't like his jump shot. Great athelete and great basketball player are not the same thing. The last thing we need is a 2G or 3F that can't shoot.

Having said that. He is a lot of fun to watch. I really hope he can improve his shot. If he can put the ball in the bucket I am sure he can create any shot he wants.

Tell me what he brings to the table as a freshman that johnson doesnt?