When things are going bad, Lockport’s Logan Cooper appears happy.
When things are going good, the senior guard appears even happier.
“He is a joyful person,” Porters coach Dave Wilson
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said. “He just has unbridled joy for the game. He’s never in a bad mood. He’s a great teammate. He has high energy.“I love him.”
The happy-go-lucky Cooper had the night of his life Tuesday, scoring a career-high 28 points to lead the Porters to a 64-41 victory over host Andrew in a SouthWest Suburban Conference crossover game in Tinley Park.
It was Wilson’s first game against his old team. The former Andrew standout was the Thunderbolts’ head coach for nine years.
The performance by Cooper, who made six 3-pointers, came one game after he also hit six 3-pointers and scored 24 points on Jan. 9 against Willowbrook.
“I’ve been having a couple of good games lately,” Cooper said. “My teammates are finding me open.”
Junior forward Collin Miller added 12 points for Lockport (7-10). Kaleb Simms scored 13 points for Andrew (13-6).
Cooper’s joy for the game came early in life as he was raised in a basketball family.
His mother, Tiffany Gilmer, was a star at Joliet Central. His brothers, Jaylandt Gilmer and Deondre Cooper, played at Lockport.
“I’m the youngest and I’m the last one,” Cooper said. “Growing up, it was hard for me because I was the youngest and I always wanted to play.
“But if I wanted to play, I would have to play physical with them. It wasn’t me crying. It was ‘I gotta get out there and I gotta stop my man.'”
He still maintains that attitude as a leader on defense, and he has piled up a nice collection of steals this season.
“I like defense,” Cooper said. “I like to be the aggressor. I play that passing lane and I play aggressive. I watch the ball, but you can’t always watch the ball — you have to watch the player that you are guarding.”
Before switching to Lockport, Wilson was a mainstay at Andrew. He said he had never been in the visiting locker room before, noting before the game there was no whiteboard.
Afterward, he was treated to a hero’s welcome, with former players and parents congratulating him.
“This was tough,” he said. “It’s a glass case of emotions. There are a lot of heart strings. I went here as a student. I taught here for 16 years and was the head coach for nine.
“The Thunderbolt community embraced the ups and downs of our journey together … It’s a homecoming, man. It was great.”
Miller said this was the best game the Porters have played this season.
“We were making our threes and running our plays right,” Miller said. “We were just very active on offense and defense.”
Wilson is anxious to see if the Porters can turn the corner. He preaches to his team to “have fun and let it fly” when shooting. It didn’t always work early.
“We played some of the best teams in the state — Benet, Romeoville, Lincoln-Way East, Homewood-Flossmoor and Bolingbrook,” Wilson said. “That’s a juggernaut.
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“But shooting is all about confidence, and we’re shooting with confidence now.”
The 5-foot-10 Cooper is confident about having fun and letting it fly as well. Even though he’s not receiving college interest yet, that could change.
“He was injured a lot last year, so he’s a senior without a lot of experience,” Wilson said of Cooper. “It showed in the beginning of the year that he needed more reps under his belt.
“Now, he’s really ballin’ out.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.