Noble Cooper Signs With Division One Idaho State

North Dakota State College of Science forward Noble Cooper became the seventh player of the Stu Engen Era to sign a Division One National Letter of Intent, inking with Idaho State on Wednesday morning.

The 6-foot-6 Issaquah, Wash. native averaged 15.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists as a freshman. Cooper is the team’s returning scoring leader and currently ranks third nationally, averaging 27 points per game.

First-year Idaho State coach Ryan Looney – a former Engen assistant – knows that his program is getting a big-time scorer.

“Noble is an extremely talented offensive player,” said Looney. “He can score in a variety of ways. His talent will be a great fit for our system on offense.”

Looney has amassed a career record of 330-132, following a stint with Engen at Wisconsin-LaCrosse in the early 2000s.

Cooper was recruited by several Division One and Division Two programs, but ultimately settled on the Bengals following a great summer visit, believing in the vision that Looney has for the program.

“I picked ISU because they consistently recruited me, talking to me every other day about school as well as basketball,” said Cooper. “Coach Looney has followed my career from high school to JUCO so I believe he has a good understanding of what I can do to help his team win. I also really liked the campus and the rest of the coaching staff on my visit.”

Cooper is part of a four-player recruiting class, with all four players measuring at least 6-feet-6 inches tall. His first game as a Division One signee will come on Friday against Leech Lake, part of the NDSCS AmericInn Classic.