Rogers State men’s basketball head coach Justin Barkley announced the hiring of Cooper Land as assistant coach for the Hillcats for the upcoming 2017-18 season on Monday.
“We are extremely excited to add Cooper to the staff. He will be a valuable piece as we continue to build our program,” said eighth year head coach Justin Barkley. “His knowledge of the game and that fact he just finished a year ago playing professionally overseas will be very valuable for us. After a year at St. Edward’s he brings an understanding of our conference and what it takes on a nightly basis. Cooper has a bright future in the business and we are delighted he decided to join us!”
Land spent last season as a volunteer assistant at Heartland Conference foe St. Edward’s University as the Hilltoppers tallied a 17-15 record while finishing sixth in the conference with a 9-9 league record. At SEU, Land led the development of post players while assisting with film breakdown and game preparation along with scouting and recruiting in his lone season in Austin, Texas.
“I’m excited to join the Hillcat Family and help continue to build upon the success that has been established,” said Land.
A 2011 graduate of NCAA Division I Wright State University, Land played professionally overseas in Norway, Germany, Japan and Australia. As a member of the Rockingham (Australia) Flames he twice earned league Most Valuable Player honors for 2013-16. He also served as head coach of the D League men and Under 16 boys teams for the Flames. He served as the Under 18 and Under 20 boys head coach while playing for the Asker (Norway) Aliens in 2011-12.
Land also served as Associate Head Coach at NAIA Division II University of St. Francis (Illinois) in 2013-14 and 2015-16 between playing overseas. In his final season at St. Francis, the Fighting Saints recorded a 28-4 record and No. 1 ranking in NAIA Division II final regular season poll while winning the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season title.
As a senior captain for the Wright State Raiders, Land received the Raider Leadership award while leading WSU to a fifth place finish in the Horizon League. He shot 41-percent from 3-point range while averaging nine points and three rebounds per game. Wright State compiled an 80-49 in his four year career.
Land earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Wright State University in 2011 graduating with a 3.45 grade point average. He fills the assistant coach position held by Marc Rozanski on Barkley’s staff.
Rogers State is coming off a fourth place finish in the Heartland Conference, just one game out of a share of the regular season championship, and finished with a 19-10 overall record.
