New TSU basketball coach promises a winning attitude, looks to revive winning ways

The cap he was presented was too big for John Cooper. Not to worry, because one of the rules he laid down in his first team meeting a night earlier was that no hats of any kind will be worn indoors.

The new Tennessee State basketball coach was more concerned on Monday with the sizable shoes he has to fill.

It was not the achievements of his recent predecessors that the 40-year-old found inspirational, it was the those of Tigers’ legends such as Henry A. Kean, whose 1948-49 team was undefeated, Johnny B. McLendon, who produced three straight NAIA champions in the 1950s, and Ed Martin, who had five straight 20-win seasons in the 1970s.

“(Tennessee State) was always a program I thought was a diamond in the rough,” Cooper said. “… I certainly have a great appreciation for it. I think I have inherited a program that not only has a proud tradition but has proud people. I think that’s very important.

“…I know there are a lot of people out there – alumni, administrators – that would like to see this basketball program get back to some of the lofty status it had years ago.”

Cooper was chosen last week to become the school’s 13th men’s basketball coach and was introduced Monday at a news conference in the performing arts building. He succeeded Cy Alexander, who was fired before the end of the 2008-09 season.

Athletics Director Teresa Phillips said Cooper, a former assistant coach at Auburn, Oregon and South Carolina (among other places), was the overwhelming choice of a seven-person advisory committee, which sought a coach who would “be competitive, capable, cognitive and caring,” and other representatives of the university community.

“It was the consensus of (the advisory committee), of the president on to the athletics director and the administrative staff,” Phillips said. “That’s why we feel so very good about (Cooper). Everyone was in agreement.”

In his meeting with the team and at his first public appearance as the Tigers’ coach, Cooper talked about the need to create relationships within the program, on campus and in the community.

His wife and two young children were with him when he addressed his players, for whom he wants to set an example of family interaction.

He made clear he would demand academic performance, public service and a code of conduct from his team.

On Sunday, he also performed a quick poll. He asked how many of the nine returning players ever had won a state championship in high school, a conference championship in college or a conference tournament title in college.

“We were 0-for-9,” Cooper said. “There wasn’t a young man in the program who had won a championship. So I wanted them to think about that because a big part of winning championships, part of being successful in life, starts off the court.

“You have to have a plan, you have to have a vision, and you have to set the culture. I wanted them to understand from Day One … what that culture is. That culture is about integrity, that culture is about commitment, it’s about discipline, it’s about structure, it’s about organization.

“That’s how you develop championship habits. I challenged them and they understand my expectations.”

That means none of them will be wearing hats indoors.