Cooley Promoted to Associate Head Coach
11/6/2017 3:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Brian Cooley, in his second year at Wright State but has been on head coach Scott Nagy's bench as an assistant coach for nine years at South Dakota State, has been promoted to associate head coach, Nagy announced today.
Cooley, who has been instrumental in the success of SDSU and the Raiders, serves as recruiting coordinator, as well as being involved in all aspects of the program, including game preparation, practice planning and leading the guards in player development workouts.Â
"Brian has made a huge impact on my staff over the past 10 years," Nagy said. "He is an integral part in all facets of the program, especially in recruiting and skill development. He has worked extremely hard and deserves a lot of credit."
"I am grateful for everything Coach Nagy has done for me professionally and personally," Cooley said. "As always, my commitment is to help Coach Nagy take Wright State Basketball to the next level."
In their first year at Wright State, the Raiders posted 20-win season and won 11 games in the Horizon League, going 12-4 at home.
During his tenure as assistant coach, he helped the Jackrabbits to 154 wins, including a 121 in the last five seasons, which resulted in five straight postseason appearances. SDSU captured back-to-back Summit League Tournament championships and NCAA tournament berths in 2012 and 2013 and again in 2016, with a College Basketball Invitational bid in 2014 and an NIT berth in 2015, when the Jacks won their first-ever Division I postseason game at Colorado State.Â
Cooley coached a total of 13 Jackrabbits who went on to earn All-Summit League honors, including 2013 Summit League Player of the Year, the Jacks all-time leading scorer and assists man and the 38th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, Nate Wolters.
Before becoming an assistant coach, Cooley served as the program's academic coordinator, helping the Jackrabbits to a 3.0 or better team grade point average from 2010-13, as well as helping the Jackrabbits earn 19 spots on the Summit League Academic All-League Team and a pair of CoSIDA Academic All-District selections during that span.
Cooley played at Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln, Neb. For four years with the Prairie Wolves, earning the team's defensive player of the year honor as a senior captain in 2005-06.
More than just a great all-around athlete, Cooley also earned Great Plains Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete honors in 2006, and graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in health and physical education.
Cooley graduated with his master's degree in sports pedagogy from South Dakota State in the spring of 2009.
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Cooley, who has been instrumental in the success of SDSU and the Raiders, serves as recruiting coordinator, as well as being involved in all aspects of the program, including game preparation, practice planning and leading the guards in player development workouts.Â
"Brian has made a huge impact on my staff over the past 10 years," Nagy said. "He is an integral part in all facets of the program, especially in recruiting and skill development. He has worked extremely hard and deserves a lot of credit."
"I am grateful for everything Coach Nagy has done for me professionally and personally," Cooley said. "As always, my commitment is to help Coach Nagy take Wright State Basketball to the next level."
In their first year at Wright State, the Raiders posted 20-win season and won 11 games in the Horizon League, going 12-4 at home.
During his tenure as assistant coach, he helped the Jackrabbits to 154 wins, including a 121 in the last five seasons, which resulted in five straight postseason appearances. SDSU captured back-to-back Summit League Tournament championships and NCAA tournament berths in 2012 and 2013 and again in 2016, with a College Basketball Invitational bid in 2014 and an NIT berth in 2015, when the Jacks won their first-ever Division I postseason game at Colorado State.Â
Cooley coached a total of 13 Jackrabbits who went on to earn All-Summit League honors, including 2013 Summit League Player of the Year, the Jacks all-time leading scorer and assists man and the 38th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, Nate Wolters.
Before becoming an assistant coach, Cooley served as the program's academic coordinator, helping the Jackrabbits to a 3.0 or better team grade point average from 2010-13, as well as helping the Jackrabbits earn 19 spots on the Summit League Academic All-League Team and a pair of CoSIDA Academic All-District selections during that span.
Cooley played at Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln, Neb. For four years with the Prairie Wolves, earning the team's defensive player of the year honor as a senior captain in 2005-06.
More than just a great all-around athlete, Cooley also earned Great Plains Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete honors in 2006, and graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in health and physical education.
Cooley graduated with his master's degree in sports pedagogy from South Dakota State in the spring of 2009.
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