OU basketball: Sooners guard Kaden Cooper plans to enter NCAA transfer portal, per report
NORMAN — Freshman guard Kaden Cooper plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, he told On3's Joe Tipton.
Cooper averaged 1.5 points and 0.9 rebounds per game while appearing in just 15 games for the Sooners this season. He was inserted into the Sooners’ Big 12 Tournament loss to TCU and showed flashes of his talent, playing 12 minutes and knocking down a 3.
The Ada native signed with OU as a four-star recruit in the 2023 class. Cooper was the No. 6-ranked player in Oklahoma out of high school and the No. 65 player nationally.
Cooper was expected to be a significant factor for head coach Porter Moser's future plans, along with fellow 2023 signee Jacolb Cole.
The Sooners (20-12, 8-10 Big 12) were the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament pool this season. OU has lost Otega Oweh, Milos Uzan, John Hugley and Javian McCollum to the portal.
Seniors Le’Tre Darthard, Maks Klanjseck and Soares are all out of eligibility. Sam Godwin has an extra year of eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it's unclear whether or not he'll return to Norman.
Moser has earned commitments from DePaul's Kobe Elvis, Fairfield's Brycen Goodine and Long Beach State's Jadon Jones.
While the amount of NIL dollars a program has to use in the portal is a difficult thing to measure in college sports, Moser offered a glimpse into the Sooners’ situation, saying this season was the first where he felt like “we really had some,” adding, “We made a huge jump.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU basketball: Kaden Cooper reportedly to enter NCAA transfer portal
