Kaden Cooper, the 6-foot-6, 180-pound small forward from The Skill Factory Prep in Atlanta, Ga., has emerged as one of the most heavily recruited prospects in the 2023 class. Originally from Ada, Okla., Cooper, the No. 34 ranked player in the 2023 class, has narrowed his list of schools down to Kansas, Oklahoma State, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga, Kansas State, LSU, Memphis, Oklahoma, and Texas. Now, from what I've been told, visits to Kansas, LSU, and Alabama, In fact, Cooper, the No. 10 ranked small forward in the 2023 class, will arrive in Lawrence on Thursday or Friday for the start of his official visit to Kansas.
Before I move forward with this small update, let me take a step back real quick. When I talked to Cooper for the first time, which was back in the spring, he made it clear that an official visit to Gonzaga would absolutely take place at some point. After that conversation, I made a few calls and was told that, without question, Gonzaga was the team to beat for Kaden Cooper. Again, after that first conversation, I exchanged many text messages with Cooper and, once again, he made it clear that Gonzaga would absolutely receive a visit before a final decision would be made.
With the month of September right around the corner and visits being set, Cooper currently has three official visits scheduled, but an official visit to Gonzaga still hasn't been scheduled at this time. If you want my honest opinion, I expect that visit to be scheduled soon and my guess is Gonzaga is still the team to beat for Kaden Cooper.
However, I had a conversation with someone that has been following the situation, and that person told me that if Cooper doesn't attend Gonzaga, he expects the pick to be Kansas. Remember, Cooper is originally from Ada, Okla., which means his family would be able to watch him play during his time at Kansas. Obviously, the trip from Ada to Lawrence and Ada to Spokane is quite a big difference in distance. For the longest time, we've all heard that Gonzaga is the team to beat for Cooper. For whatever reason, I still believe that he ends up playing for Mark Few and the Zags.
With that being said, Cooper has not yet scheduled an official visit to Gonzaga, at least not publicly, and will spend the weekend in Lawrence, Kan., with Bill Self and the University of Kansas men's basketball team. If anything, this is certainly something to keep an eye on moving forward.
Before I move forward with this small update, let me take a step back real quick. When I talked to Cooper for the first time, which was back in the spring, he made it clear that an official visit to Gonzaga would absolutely take place at some point. After that conversation, I made a few calls and was told that, without question, Gonzaga was the team to beat for Kaden Cooper. Again, after that first conversation, I exchanged many text messages with Cooper and, once again, he made it clear that Gonzaga would absolutely receive a visit before a final decision would be made.
With the month of September right around the corner and visits being set, Cooper currently has three official visits scheduled, but an official visit to Gonzaga still hasn't been scheduled at this time. If you want my honest opinion, I expect that visit to be scheduled soon and my guess is Gonzaga is still the team to beat for Kaden Cooper.
However, I had a conversation with someone that has been following the situation, and that person told me that if Cooper doesn't attend Gonzaga, he expects the pick to be Kansas. Remember, Cooper is originally from Ada, Okla., which means his family would be able to watch him play during his time at Kansas. Obviously, the trip from Ada to Lawrence and Ada to Spokane is quite a big difference in distance. For the longest time, we've all heard that Gonzaga is the team to beat for Cooper. For whatever reason, I still believe that he ends up playing for Mark Few and the Zags.
With that being said, Cooper has not yet scheduled an official visit to Gonzaga, at least not publicly, and will spend the weekend in Lawrence, Kan., with Bill Self and the University of Kansas men's basketball team. If anything, this is certainly something to keep an eye on moving forward.
