Take notice
By Kyle Charters
Managing
Editor
It's taken almost three years,
but it seems that the national media are starting to take notice of
Purdue center Camille Cooper.
On Tuesday, ESPN.com's Beth
Mowins named Cooper one of the five best centers in the country along
with Tawana McDonald of Georgia, Ruth Riley of Notre Dame, Connecticut's
Kelly Schumacher and Iowa State's Angie Wells.
But some may say that it's
taken too long for the 6-foot-4-inch Cooper to receive accolades from
those outside West Lafayette.
"I'm consistently behind
some players that we beat every time and that I match up well against,"
said Cooper, who averaged 15.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last
season. "But it doesn't really matter. It all depends on how far this
team goes; that's my main concern. I'll prove it on the court so I don't
really worry about it."
Despite being named one of
Mowins' top players, Cooper didn't receive a vote for The Associated
Press' preseason All-America team. Two other centers on Mowins' list
— Riley and Wells — did.
Cooper and the Boilers have
faced Riley's Notre Dame team for the last four years. That and the
fact that Riley is widely considered one of the best centers in the
country makes getting excited to play the Fighting Irish pretty easy
for Cooper.
"It's definitely a motivating
factor," said Cooper. "I know I played Notre Dame Dec. 8 last year;
this year it's Dec. 9. So I thought about that over the summer. I think
about it all the time."
When the Boilers play the
Irish on Dec. 9, Cooper will be looking to win her third straight game
against Riley. Last season Purdue beat Notre Dame 71-61 in Mackey Arena
with Cooper dominating inside. The Boiler center had 19 points and three
rebounds compared to Riley's 11 points and four boards.
With that in mind, Purdue
coach Kristy Curry said it's easy to see why Cooper gets energized when
she plays against those who are considered the best centers in the country.
"That's probably a really
good point about her, considering what happened last year if you look
at the box score," said Curry. "On any given day, Camille can be as
good as anybody in the country and on that particular day she showed
that. I think she wants to find some consistency with that."
Consistency is something
that Cooper didn't have early in her career. As a freshman, Cooper averaged
6.6 points per game off the bench. That average moved up to 9.7 points
when she was a sophomore starter on the 1999 national championship team.
Then last year, her average moved into double figures as she became
the second option behind senior guard Katie Douglas, who was named a
preseason All-American.
"My role's changing every
year," said Cooper. "I'm becoming more of a go-to person. I think mainly
my biggest improvement is in my confidence. It's something I've always
worked on and will continue to work on."
The biggest change in Cooper's
game may be in her ability to shoot free throws. As a freshman, Cooper
made 40.5 percent (45 out of 111) of her shots from the free throw line.
She improved a little during her next season, making 50 percent (43
out of 86). But the most significant improvement came last season when
Cooper made 61.2 percent (82-134) from the line.
Cooper said that with her
free throw shooting and overall game continuing to improve, she will
start to gain even more recognition and possibly by the end of the season
will be considered for All-America honors.
"I see that as a realistic
goal for me and for Katie also," said Cooper. "So I definitely think
it's possible. We're just going to go out and be leaders on this team
and whatever honors come, they come."
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