Former Marist guard Anthony Cooper is no longer a part of the men’s basketball program, Center Field learned Tuesday night. The player stepped away from the team after the loss at Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 22.
Cooper played in the first five games of the season, starting three of those. The transfer from Caldwell University averaged 7.2 points in 17.8 minutes per game. Cooper began the season in the starting five, before being relegated to the second unit in his last two appearances.
The 6-foot-2 graduate student came into this season with a lot of promise, showing a lot of potential with the Cougars at the Division II level. Cooper started all 25 games for Caldwell in the 2021-22 season, scoring a team-high 19 points a night. He certainly showed signs of his ability to score in his limited action with Marist, scoring a season-high 16 points at Lehigh on Nov. 16.
With Cooper confirmed to be out of the program for the remainder of the season, Marist will move forward with Isaiah Brickner, Noah Harris, and Kam Farris at the guard positions. The Red Foxes may lack depth in their backcourt, but those three players are more than capable of shouldering the load.
The official departure of Cooper won’t change much in terms of the rotations for head coach John Dunne, as the player has not seen the floor in nearly two months. Marist will continue to move forward with the core they have, as the team looks to extend their three-game winning streak against the Saint Peter’s Peacocks at home Friday night.
Photo from Kira Crutcher