Jack Cooley may want to buy a Rosetta Stone program.
Having already played in Spain and Turkey, the Glenbrook South product is now headed to Germany to play for Ludwigsburg.
Like when he played for Trabzonspor in Turkey months after graduating from Notre Dame, Cooley enters Germany not knowing the native language.
It doesn’t take too many classes though to understand Cooley’s main motive for heading overseas: mehr Minuten. That’s German for “more minutes.” It’s a phrase that transcends national lines — it’s part of the global language of basketball.
This summer, Cooley had a unique opportunity — playing for the Chicago Bulls.
More Top Picks Best Commuter E Bikes For Women
It was the Summer League version of the Chicago Bulls, but for Cooley, who grew up rooting for the Bulls, it was a thrill nonetheless.
“We got to practice in the new practice facility they have. We got to stay in the locker room,” said Cooley, who is 6-foot-9 and 278 pounds. “All of that was really extremely cool and fun. It’s been a goal of mine since I was little to play for the Chicago Bulls.”
His Bulls team went 7-0 in Las Vegas. In the championship game, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Bulls seemed sunk after a ridiculous Tyus Jones step-back three. Then, Denzel Valentine answered with one of his own and hit a whirling jumper in overtime to deliver the Bulls a title.
Minutes were hard to come by in Summer League for Cooley, as he received 11 or fewer in each of his final four games and did not play in the final. Then again, his team had Spencer Dinwiddie and Bobby Portis, two players with NBA experience. While he received interest after the Summer League from NBA teams, according to his agent, Adam Pensack, the offers could have easily ended with Cooley playing in the NBA Development League, or worse yet, being waived.
And that’s where Germany fit in.
“It takes a lot of thought and a lot of weighing different factors,” Cooley said. “There are so many factors you have to take into account.”
Cooley will cross the Atlantic toward the end of August. His fiancée, Jackie Oberlander, will not be able to join him, except for two-week visits, but Oberlander also provided him with some good news. One of her co-workers had roots in Ludwigsburg. The feedback was positive.
“They’re telling me all these great things about it,” Cooley said. “I’m very lucky to be able to go play there for the next year.”
Cooley also has a somewhat unusual asset at his side — a father in Jack Cooley Sr. whose job allows him to make the trip to Germany almost at will.
“I can literally work anywhere in the world,” said Jack Cooley Sr., a financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial.
It’s not the first time Jack Cooley Sr. has poured his heart into his son’s career. His son’s longtime coach, Jack Cooley Sr. estimated he spoke with Pensack for 30 hours before selecting him as his son’s agent.
“I’m relentless,” Jack Cooley Sr. said. “It’s my son’s life, my son’s career.”
Germany will be one more step in a road already full of twists and turns.
Since concluding his Notre Dame career in 2013, Jack Cooley Jr. has spent a year in the Utah Jazz system, earning a couple of 10-day contracts with the big-league club; set a NBA D-League single-game record with 29 rebounds; and even made nice with LeBron James during his short stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Jack Cooley Sr.
Although Jack Cooley Jr. hasn’t stuck with an NBA team yet, he has certainly shown glimmers of promise. Take his Summer League performances, including eight rebounds (five offensive) in 16 minutes against Boston, six rebounds (three offensive) in seven minutes against San Antonio and eight rebounds (three offensive) in 11 minutes against Washington.
That’s an awful lot of production in a small amount of playing time — production that hearkened back to his Big East-leading 10.1 rebounds per game his final year at Notre Dame.
“The business is frustrating, but we have a lot of positives to draw on,” Jack Cooley Sr. said.
Of course, the only way to put up any kind of numbers is with Minuten. That’s where Germany comes into play.
“He truly understands what his mission is and that’s to go out there and put up some big numbers,” Jack Cooley Sr. said. “We’re confident in Jack’s ability to do well and hopefully establish a good set of stats, so at the end of the season, the NBA teams will take hopefully a closer look at him and see how he fits in.”
Jonah L. Rosenblum is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @jonahlrosenblum
More Top Picks Best Amazon Prime Day Eufy Robot Vacuum Deals 2026