Tulsa Names Steve Cooper as Assistant Basketball Coach
4/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 17, 2001
Tulsa, Oklahoma - University of Tulsa Head Basketball Coach John Phillips appointed Steve Cooper, head basketball coach at Sand Springs (Okla.) High School, as an assistant basketball coach today.
Cooper, 44, has spent the past nine seasons as head coach on the prep level in Oklahoma. He was the head basketball coach at Sand Springs High School for the past four years (1997-01). In 1999-00, his team posted the best record in 18 years at the school with an 18-7 mark.
Before that, Cooper took the coaching reigns at East Central High School, where he coached for five years. In his second season, Cooper led his team to a 14-12 record, the first winning season in 10 years at the school. In his final two years, ECU posted records of 18-9 in 1995-96 and 17-8 in 1996-97. His 1996 team made the state tournament for the school's first appearance in 15 seasons.
Previously, he served five years (1987-92) as an assistant coach at Central High School under longtime coach Terry Scott. Before that, Cooper was an assistant coach at Edison High School, where he served under John Phillips for four seasons (1983-87).
Cooper spent one season as a graduate assistant coach at Northeastern (Okla.) State (1982-83), and before that spent two seasons as the head basketball coach at Coweta High School (1980-82).
"Steve is one of the best prep coaches in a state that has solid coaching on the high school level. We worked together before, with him as my assistant at Edison High School, so our philosophies on basketball are similar," said Phillips. "He'll bring a lot of knowledge and energy to our basketball program and will be instrumental in helping Tulsa basketball continue to be successful."
During his coaching career, Cooper has been named the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association (OBCA) Region 7 Coach of the Year three times (1993, 1996 and 2000), twice named Conference Coach of the Year (1997 and 2000) and was the OBCA District 7 Coach of the Year three times (1994, 1996 and 2000).
Cooper has coached at numerous summer college basketball camps including Arkansas, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts and Tulsa. He also coached at several summer high school camps. Cooper currently serves as Vice President for the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Asociation, and was chosen to coach the Oklahoma team in the Faith Seven (Oklahoma vs. Texas) game this year.
A native of Oklahoma City, Okla., Cooper earned his bachelor's of science degree in 1978, and a master's degree in education in 1983, both from Northeastern (Okla.) State University.
