NASHVILLE, March 27 (UPI) -- John Cooper, who has been an assistant coach for more than 15 years, was introduced Friday as the head basketball coach at Tennessee State.
Cooper has been an assistant at Auburn for the past five seasons. He previously was on the coaching staffs at Oregon, South Carolina and Fayetteville State. The Tennessee State position is his first head coaching job.
"We had an outstanding group of candidates from which to choose," said Tennessee State President Melvin Johnson. "We were looking for the right fit, a combination of integrity, energy, respectability, community involvement and commitment to player and team development. John Cooper was very impressive in the final interview process."
Cooper replaces Cy Alexander, who was fired in February. Alexander was in his sixth season at Tennessee State, which was 6-16 when he was let go. Interim coach Mark Pittman guided the team to a 6-2 record over the rest of the season.
Cooper, 40, played at Wichita State where he led the team in scoring and rebounding in both his junior and senior seasons. He graduated in 1991 and was a Rhodes Scholar candidate.
