David Cooper (born 15 October 1976) is an Australian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played the majority of his career in the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL). He also played in the New Zealand NBL and the

South Australian State League State League South Australia is a series of Association football, soccer leagues based in South Australia which consists of two divisions; SA State League 1 (SL1) and SA State League 2 (SL2). It runs as the second and third tiers of soccer in So ...

Playing career

Born in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Cooper began his ANBL career in 2000 with the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

. After two seasons playing for the Bullets, he joined the

Victoria Giants The Victoria Titans (known in its final two seasons as the Victoria Giants), were an Australian professional basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The club was based in Melbourne, Victoria. History The Titans ...

for the 2002–03 NBL season. Following the 2002–03 season, Cooper moved to New Zealand where he joined the

Manawatu Jets The Manawatu Jets are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Palmerston North. The Jets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Central Energy Trust Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they ...

for the 2003 New Zealand NBL season. He went on to earn league MVP honours that year, while also garnering Most Outstanding Forward and All-Star Five honours. For the

2003–04 NBL season The 2003–04 NBL season was the 26th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 12 teams contested the league. This season marked the first NBL season that featured the New Zealand Breakers, the first New Zealand team in ...

, Cooper joined the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

. In 35 games for the Taipans, he averaged 5.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. He re-joined the Manawatu Jets for the 2004 New Zealand NBL season and won the Garry Pettis Memorial Trophy for leading the league in rebounding. For the

2004–05 NBL season The 2004–05 NBL season was the 27th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league, the Victoria Giants has been folded. Regular season The 2004-05 regular season took place over 21 rounds bet ...

, Cooper joined the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adela ...

, the team he continued to play for until 2010 when he retired from the league following the 2009–10 NBL season. In 293 ANBL games over 10 seasons, he averaged 5.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. Cooper also played two more years in the New Zealand NBL (2005 with Manawatu, and 2009 with the

Hawke's Bay Hawks The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as th ...

), and spent six years playing in the

for the Norwood Flames between 2006 and 2011.

Coaching career

In 2012, Cooper became an assistant coach for the Norwood Flames. He became head coach the following year, winning Central ABL Coach of the Year honours in 2014.

References

External links

ANBL player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, David 1976 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players Australian men's basketball players Brisbane Bullets players Cairns Taipans players Centers (basketball) Hawke's Bay Hawks players Manawatu Jets players Power forwards Victoria Giants players Sportspeople from Toowoomba Sportsmen from Queensland