Imagine growing up in a poor area where your family is making every effort to just get through one day at a time. You see nothing but crime and drugs around you, and you’re forced to go to the lowest funded schools in the area. It seems like being in a situation like that would be hard to survive in, let alone making it to the WNBA.
However, former Norcross player Shayla Cooper made it out of her situation and turned her struggles into success.
“It has always been a dream, but being from the hood and seeing my family struggle was another reason why I wanted to make it,” Cooper said about what motivated her. “Growing up around a lot of violence and poor schools made it hard to prosper. My mom moved me (from Birmingham, Ala.) to Florida and Georgia to have a better opportunity to prosper.”
“I want to make it so I can give back to the community I came from. I can then pave the way for other individuals to make it out of a bad situation.”
Since the beginning of her basketball career, Cooper has known that she wanted to play in the WNBA.
“Being in the WNBA was a dream of mine since I was 8 years old,” Cooper said. “My Norcross days definitely played a huge role in preparing me for my WNBA career.”
Cooper was a McDonald’s All-American nominee in high school and helped Norcross High School to the Class AAAAAA 2013 state championship. She signed with Georgetown and played two games her freshman season, but transferred to Ohio State.
At Ohio State, Cooper continued her development. She finished her career shooting 49 percent from the floor and 77 percent from the free-throw line. She collected 690 rebounds and scored 1,070 points. She also made it to the Sweet 16 twice.
“It’s a bittersweet moment to know it has come to an end,” Cooper said of her career at Ohio State. “I think my career was great because I was able to learn and grow as a person and a player.”
With her collegiate career over, Cooper has been training and preparing for Thursday night’s draft.
“Working out and being in the gym as much as possible; weights and conditioning,” Cooper said about her preparations for draft day. “I am letting my agent handle the other stuff.”
Players usually have a preference for which team drafts them, but Cooper is just excited to be drafted in general.
“I will be more than happy and blessed to be picked up by any team in the draft,” Cooper said. “I would like to go to Atlanta so I can represent for the hometown, but I am grateful where I go.”
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