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Plant's Cooley Gets Assist From Ex-Pro

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By NICK WILLIAMS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 3, 2008

Updated: 07/03/2008 12:12 am

TAMPA - There's little Plant High's Sheldon Cooley can't accomplish on the basketball court.

He can dribble, pass, defend, rebound and score at will. He proved that last season, when he led Plant to the Class 5A region semifinals while averaging 22.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.0 steals per game. A three-year varsity starter, he has amassed 1,500 career points.

This summer, however, Plant boys basketball coach Mike Phillips thought it was necessary for Cooley to develop a solid jump shot to prepare for the next level.

"The feedback we were getting from college coaches is that they weren't really sure about his outside shot," Phillips said. "Everybody knows he can penetrate, but they weren't sure he can hit the outside shot."

East Tennessee State, Houston and Tennessee Tech have offered scholarships, while other big-name schools have shown interest in the 6-foot-3 guard.

Cooley shot 65 percent from the field last season, but the majority of his points came from around the rim. He only took 74 3-point shots last season, making 27.

To assist Cooley with his shooting technique, Phillips sought the help of former NBA All-Star Jim Price, who moved to the Bay area two years ago.

Price, a former All-American guard at the University of Louisville, played seven seasons in the NBA, including two years with the Los Angeles Lakers. He helped that franchise reach the NBA Finals. He also played with the Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets. He now runs Pyramid Sports, a non-profit organization for children in Brandon.

Cooley and Price have been training one day each week for the past two months, and the Plant standout has noticed improvement.

"Working with Jim Price, I think it was a good idea that Coach brought him in on the coaching staff," said Cooley, who takes at least 200 shots at each session. "He's getting my shot where it needs to be for the next level. He's been showing how to shoot off a hop step, or off a one-two step and keeping my elbow in."

"They really connected," Phillips said. "What Price did in the NBA and in college, is about the same type of game Sheldon has."

Price said Cooley's game is reminiscent of his own.

"Sheldon reminds me so much of myself when I was in college," Price said. "I was not a good off-the-ball shooter. With him, it's just working on his off-the-ball shooting. That's one of the things I know he is going to have to do well.

"If he continues to work hard in the areas he does well, he's going to find that his opportunities to score are going to be off the charts."

Nick Williams narrates an audio slideshow highlighting the changes Jim Price helped make to Cooley's game for the upcoming prep season. Keyword: Sheldon Cooley. Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 865-4848 or nwilliams@tampatrib.com.

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