Sharife Cooper voted to SEC All-Freshman Team

Sharife Cooper (2) at Georgia – Jan. 13, 2021 Credit: Tony Walsh/Georgia Athletics

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Auburn point guard Sharife Cooper was selected to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team through voting by the Southeastern Conference coaches, the league office announced Tuesday.

Cooper is the 17th Tiger freshman to be named to the annual team and the third under head coach Bruce Pearl, joining Isaac Okoro (2020) and Mustapha Heron (2017).

In 12 games, the Powder Springs, Ga. native averaged a team-best 20.2 points and 8.1 assists per game in addition to his 4.3 rebounds per tilt.

Cooper scored or assisted on 471 of Auburn’s 996 points (47.2 percent) when he was in the lineup.

Cooper was one of three freshman in the nation with five games of 25 or more points at the conclusion of the regular season. He tied with Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham for second with five behind only LSU’s Cameron Thomas, who had 14.

His 97 assists in just 12 games vaulted him to third in the SEC. While he ranks ninth in total assists among freshmen nationally, his 8.1 assists per game was third-best among all players in the entire country.

Cooper had three points-assists double-doubles on the season and has three of the four such occurrences by an Auburn freshman since the assist became an official NCAA statistic prior to the 1983-84 season.

First Team All-SEC

Herbert Jones, Alabama

John Petty Jr., Alabama

Moses Moody, Arkansas

Tre Mann, Florida

Cameron Thomas, LSU

Devontae Shuler, Ole Miss

Dru Smith, Missouri

Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt

Second Team All-SEC

Jaden Shackelford, Alabama

Colin Castleton, Florida

Sahvir Wheeler, Georgia

Javonte Smart, LSU

Trendon Watford, LSU

D.J. Stewart Jr., Mississippi State

Jeremiah Tilmon, Missouri

AJ Lawson, South Carolina

All-Freshman Team

Joshua Primo, Alabama

Moses Moody, Arkansas

Sharife Cooper, Auburn

KD Johnson, Georgia

Isaiah Jackson, Kentucky

Cameron Thomas, LSU

Keon Johnson, Tennessee

Jaden Springer, Tennessee

All-Defensive Team

Herbert Jones, Alabama

Isaiah Jackson, Kentucky

Abdul Ado, Mississippi State

Dru Smith, Missouri

Yves Pons, Tennessee

Coach of the Year

Nate Oats, Alabama

Player of the Year

Herbert Jones, Alabama

Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Dylan Disu, Vanderbilt

Freshman of the Year

Moses Moody, Arkansas

Sixth-Man of the Year

JD Notae, Arkansas

Defensive Player of the Year

Herbert Jones, Alabama