Nov. 19, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame men’s basketball forward Jack Cooley (Glenview, Ill.) has been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor, it was announced today by the league office as the conference office handed out its annual awards for the first time in 2012-13.
Cooley, a preseason first team all-BIG EAST selection, earned second team all-conference honors last season and copped the league’s most improved award at season’s end. The senior tri-captain garnered player-of-the week honors and was as five-time Honor Roll honoree during his junior season in 2011-12.
Cooley has helped the Irish to a 3-1 start to the season and leads the team in both scoring and rebounding as he is averaging 17.0 points and 11.8 rebounds. He is shooting 57.9 percent from the field and leads the team with 10 blocked shots (2.5 blocks per game). Cooley has recorded a double-double in three of Notre Dame’s four games this season and is the only Irish player to score in double figures in all four outings. He has netted a season-high 19 points in both the Evansville and BYU contest and grabbed a season-best 14 rebounds in the loss to Saint Joseph’s. In the season opener against Evansville, Cooley blocked a personal-best six shots.
Cooley was named to the all-tournament team at Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y., following a third-place finish. In Notre Dame’s overtime loss (79-70) to Saint Joseph’s, he finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds and then came back the following night with 19 points and 13 rebounds against BYU in a 78-68 victory.