Cooper NCAC Player of the Year for Second Time, Four Other Scots All-NCAC

James Cooper

Brandon Johnson

» 2007-08 All-NCAC Team

North Coast Athletic Conference champion and No. 17 ranked (D3hoops.com) College of Wooster had five of its players named to the 2007-08 All-North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Team, highlighted by senior shooting guard James Cooper (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield South) being voted the NCAC Player of the Year for the second time in his career, announced the league office Wednesday. Joining Cooper on the All-NCAC First Team was junior point guard Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison).

Another member of the Fighting Scots’ backcourt, senior Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley), as well as senior forward Evan Will (Dublin, Ohio / Dublin Coffman) were second-team all-conference, and junior forward Marty Bidwell (Middletown, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick) received honorable mention.

Cooper becomes the first in Wooster’s tradition-rich program and the third overall to be a two-time NCAC Player-of-the-Year award winner. The others were Brad Baldridge of Wittenberg University (1989-90, 1990-91) and Ohio Wesleyan University’s Scott Tedder (1985-86, 1986-87). Cooper gained the honor as a sophomore, then gave way to teammate Tom Port last season, and now earned it again after leading the league in scoring at 19.4 points per game. Once more, the three-time first-team all-NCAC honoree put up big numbers in a highly efficient manner, shooting 53.7 percent from the field, 49.2 percent on 3-pointers, and 80.5 percent at the free throw line to rank fourth, second, and sixth in the NCAC, respectively. Cooper, who recently became the second Scot to reach the 2,000-point plateau for his career (2,014), also is averaging a career-high 2.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.9 steals.

Johnson, who moves up from being second-team all-conference as a sophomore, has directed Wooster’s offense to an NCAC-best 86.2 points a game. In addition to ranking second in the league in assists (3.7 apg), he is the team’s third-leading scorer (11.4 ppg) and fourth-leading rebounder (3.8 rpg), averaging career highs in both categories. Johnson also currently stands among the NCAC’s top-10 in free throw percentage (.793) and assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.17 per game).

Fulk, a first-time selection to the all-conference team, has been the Scots’ No. 2 scorer for most of the season, scoring 11.5 points per game. The sharp-shooting sixth man has made more than half of his 3-point attempts (53-for-105) as he leads the league in 3-point percentage (.505), and would also rank first in free throw percentage (.927; 51-for-55) but is three makes short of the minimum standard. Fulk is putting up career highs in scoring average, rebounding (3.6 rpg), assists (2.0 apg), and steals (1.1 spg).

Will, also a newcomer to the All-NCAC Team, is Wooster’s leading rebounder (6.6 rpg) and top defensive force in the post, in addition to providing steady contributions on offense. He ranks ninth in the league in rebounding, tied for fifth in blocked shots (1.0 bpg), and 10th in assists (2.4 apg) while scoring 9.7 points per game. All four of those averages are career highs for Will.

Bidwell garners the first postseason distinction of his career as well. A defensive stopper and key part of the transition game, Bidwell currently sits second in the NCAC in steals (1.9 spg), fourth in assists (3.6 apg), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.92 per game), and 16th in rebounding (5.2 rpg). He also has the ability to score, tossing in a career-high 9.4 points per outing on a .503 field-goal percentage.

The Scots, who won the NCAC championship outright (15-1) for the fourth consecutive year, come into this weekend’s NCAA Div. III Tournament first- and second-round action with a 23-4 overall record. In a rematch from the 2007 “Final Four,” Wooster will meet 11th-ranked Washington University-St. Louis (19-6) Friday evening (6 p.m. CST) on the campus of Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill.