http://www.hustlebelt.com/2013/11/2/5059...n-to-a-new

Cooper, arguably the greatest player in Ohio Basketball history and certainly the greatest to ever wear No. 5, left in the spring, following the completion of his senior season. But, he left without completing his degree, and Ohio University has a policy to not honor the numbers of players who didn't earn their degrees (see Gary Trent). Less than nine months later though, the legend's number had been reassigned, to someone Cooper never played with.

Does the new #5 get the bikini as well?

Cooper could have graduated and avoided this problem.

(11-23-2013 06:39 AM)bullsnotbills Wrote:  Does the new #5 get the bikini as well?

Nope. There are some nice beaches in Greece I'm sure he took it with him. But Ndour does get the chance to try and beat Cooper's .778 all time winning percentage (7-2) against U@B. Plus he can extend the 6 game winning streak DJ left behind vs the Bulls, including the last 3 in Alumni.

(11-23-2013 07:13 AM)FlashFan Wrote:  Cooper could have graduated and avoided this problem.

+1

I don't think you can make an argument that Gary Trent is not the best player in Ohio history. If we are choosing up sides and both are freshmen, who doesn't take Trent?

(11-23-2013 07:13 AM)FlashFan Wrote:  Cooper could have graduated and avoided this problem.

+1

Antonio Gates wasn't happy with Kent State for similar reasons...eventually the chill thawed and all was well.

PS: wouldn't Trent be considered the best?

(11-23-2013 08:19 AM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 07:13 AM)FlashFan Wrote:  Cooper could have graduated and avoided this problem.

+1

Antonio Gates wasn't happy with Kent State for similar reasons...eventually the chill thawed and all was well.

PS: wouldn't Trent be considered the best?

I consider Gary Trent to be the best Ohio player, no discussion needed.

Some Ohio fans have been arguing that Cooper should be considered the best (primarily those who did not see Gary play)

Gary is in the discussion for the greatest player in MAC history. If he had played his senior year, there would probably be no discussion needed for either case...

(11-23-2013 05:58 AM)Bull_In_Exile Wrote:  http://www.hustlebelt.com/2013/11/2/5059...n-to-a-new

Cooper, arguably the greatest player in Ohio Basketball history and certainly the greatest to ever wear No. 5, left in the spring, following the completion of his senior season. But, he left without completing his degree, and Ohio University has a policy to not honor the numbers of players who didn't earn their degrees (see Gary Trent). Less than nine months later though, the legend's number had been reassigned, to someone Cooper never played with.

Aren't you forgetting the Shaq of the MAC??

(11-23-2013 09:10 AM)OUBobcat9092 Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 08:19 AM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 07:13 AM)FlashFan Wrote:  Cooper could have graduated and avoided this problem.

+1

Antonio Gates wasn't happy with Kent State for similar reasons...eventually the chill thawed and all was well.

PS: wouldn't Trent be considered the best?

I consider Gary Trent to be the best Ohio player, no discussion needed.

Some Ohio fans have been arguing that Cooper should be considered the best (primarily those who did not see Gary play)

Gary is in the discussion for the greatest player in MAC history. If he had played his senior year, there would probably be no discussion needed for either case...

Then you must hot have seen Nate Thurmond, Dan Roundfield, Marjlie or Paul Griffin play. All four were hands down better than Trent.

(11-23-2013 09:10 AM)OUBobcat9092 Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 08:19 AM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 07:13 AM)FlashFan Wrote:  Cooper could have graduated and avoided this problem.

+1

Antonio Gates wasn't happy with Kent State for similar reasons...eventually the chill thawed and all was well.

PS: wouldn't Trent be considered the best?

I consider Gary Trent to be the best Ohio player, no discussion needed.

Some Ohio fans have been arguing that Cooper should be considered the best (primarily those who did not see Gary play)

Gary is in the discussion for the greatest player in MAC history. If he had played his senior year, there would probably be no discussion needed for either case...

Agree totally. Trent filled arenas around the MAC. I saw that 1st hand in Kent. We would normally have 1500-1800 in the stands but had 6000 for OU when he played. I doubt many came opposing fans came out to see Cooper (though he was a very good player).

(11-23-2013 10:30 AM)gobaseline Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 09:10 AM)OUBobcat9092 Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 08:19 AM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 07:13 AM)FlashFan Wrote:  Cooper could have graduated and avoided this problem.

+1

Antonio Gates wasn't happy with Kent State for similar reasons...eventually the chill thawed and all was well.

PS: wouldn't Trent be considered the best?

I consider Gary Trent to be the best Ohio player, no discussion needed.

Some Ohio fans have been arguing that Cooper should be considered the best (primarily those who did not see Gary play)

Gary is in the discussion for the greatest player in MAC history. If he had played his senior year, there would probably be no discussion needed for either case...

Then you must hot have seen Nate Thurmond, Dan Roundfield, Marjlie or Paul Griffin play. All four were hands down better than Trent.

Steve Mix and Ron Harper weren't exactly chopped liver.

(11-23-2013 10:37 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 10:30 AM)gobaseline Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 09:10 AM)OUBobcat9092 Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 08:19 AM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 07:13 AM)FlashFan Wrote:  Cooper could have graduated and avoided this problem.

+1

Antonio Gates wasn't happy with Kent State for similar reasons...eventually the chill thawed and all was well.

PS: wouldn't Trent be considered the best?

I consider Gary Trent to be the best Ohio player, no discussion needed.

Some Ohio fans have been arguing that Cooper should be considered the best (primarily those who did not see Gary play)

Gary is in the discussion for the greatest player in MAC history. If he had played his senior year, there would probably be no discussion needed for either case...

Then you must hot have seen Nate Thurmond, Dan Roundfield, Marjlie or Paul Griffin play. All four were hands down better than Trent.

Steve Mix and Ron Harper weren't exactly chopped liver.

I saw "Thunder Dan" Majerle play, along with Wally World, Ron Harper, John Devereaux and Snoopy Graham, and everyone else since, and I think given one more year in the MAC, Trent would have outshone them all.

If he only repeated his avg's from his junior season, Trent would have ended with 2800 points, 1500 rebounds, and 4 MAC Player of the year honors...

Bonzi Wells could fill it up also.

this is old news, as per the Nov. 2nd date of the article. Coop was wrong to complain for several reasons and it looks like he's realized that as he never mentioned it again and since then has sent several tweets to the team congratulating them on wins etc.

To clarify a couple things for Coop and the rest of us- Ohio doesn't "retire" jersey numbers. #54 Frank Baumholtz, #34 Walter Luckett, #33 Dave Jamerson, and #20 Gary Trent are the jerseys that hang in the rafters, but only #54 is retired. As a senior in 1941 Baumholtz was a 1st Team All-American and lead the Bobcats to the NIT Finals back when that was the big national tournament. He was a 2 sport star who briefly played professional bball before spending 10 years in the MLB.

As for the other 3 that are honored, all 3 were drafted in the NBA, had to wait 10+ years for the honor, and all of them have their jerseys worn by other players. In fact, #33 and #20 are being worn THIS YEAR, so Coop has no ground on which to complain.

I imagine he was made aware of this pretty quick. He also needs to remember that the guy who wore #5 immediately before him was damn good too, Leon Williams, and probably had a right to complain about a freshman wearing his jersey. What will be interesting to see is what happens to the current #5, Maurice Ndour. As a JC transfer he only has 2 years to make an impact but if he continues to develop he has a better shot of being drafted than Coop and is very intelligent and will likely earn his degree before his eligibility is up. It's possible that Ndour could be eligible and worthy of having his #5 hung in the rafters too.

(11-23-2013 06:39 AM)bullsnotbills Wrote:  Does the new #5 get the bikini as well?

Way ahead of you

http://www.ubbullrun.com/2013/11/23/5136...on-retired

(11-23-2013 11:10 AM)OUBobcat9092 Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 10:37 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 10:30 AM)gobaseline Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 09:10 AM)OUBobcat9092 Wrote:  [quote='Polish Hammer' pid='10055702' dateline='1385212764']

+1

Antonio Gates wasn't happy with Kent State for similar reasons...eventually the chill thawed and all was well.

PS: wouldn't Trent be considered the best?

I consider Gary Trent to be the best Ohio player, no discussion needed.

Some Ohio fans have been arguing that Cooper should be considered the best (primarily those who did not see Gary play)

Gary is in the discussion for the greatest player in MAC history. If he had played his senior year, there would probably be no discussion needed for either case...

Then you must hot have seen Nate Thurmond, Dan Roundfield, Marjlie or Paul Griffin play. All four were hands down better than Trent.

Steve Mix and Ron Harper weren't exactly chopped liver.

I saw "Thunder Dan" Majerle play, along with Wally World, Ron Harper, John Devereaux and Snoopy Graham, and everyone else since, and I think given one more year in the MAC, Trent would have outshone them all.

If he only repeated his avg's from his junior season, Trent would have ended with 2800 points, 1500 rebounds, and 4 MAC Player of the year



Gary Trent may have been the best Bobcat.

Not remotely in a logical objective discussion about best player on conference history.

Filling venues? Hardly able to connect the dots to any one player and certainly not Trent.
Stats? He was a very good player who went head to head against less talented opposition. He was green lighted to shoot. What would you expect?

When his talent played against the best he pales next to others mentioned.

Very good player. Albeit a OU great. Not in the discussion for best in conference.

Don't forget "The Iceman."

(11-23-2013 02:51 PM)Rocketime Wrote:  Don't forget "The Iceman."

Yeah, I brought him up before in another thread, but his career was mostly pre-MAC at EMU then he went to Long Beach St before he went to the NBA, I believe.

(11-23-2013 03:06 PM)axeme Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 02:51 PM)Rocketime Wrote:  Don't forget "The Iceman."

Yeah, I brought him up before in another thread, but his career was mostly pre-MAC at EMU then he went to Long Beach St before he went to the NBA, I believe.

You're right. I should have remembered that. EMU was D-II, I believe, during Gervin's time there. EMU can claim him, but not the MAC.

(11-23-2013 04:21 PM)Rocketime Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 03:06 PM)axeme Wrote:  

(11-23-2013 02:51 PM)Rocketime Wrote:  Don't forget "The Iceman."

Yeah, I brought him up before in another thread, but his career was mostly pre-MAC at EMU then he went to Long Beach St before he went to the NBA, I believe.

You're right. I should have remembered that. EMU was D-II, I believe, during Gervin's time there. EMU can claim him, but not the MAC.

One of Gervin's last EMU games was at UT, first home game of my frosh year. They led by nearly twenty at half and UT won by double figures as Ice coasted in half two. He had some attitude issues that year.