CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball program, and head coach Todd Simon, have announced the signing of Courtese Cooper, a transfer forward from Louisiana State University. 

"We are excited to add Courtese to the program," Simon said. "He is a great fit for our program. His strengths to run the floor, guard multiple positions and protect the rim are good additions to what we do. He knows what it takes to win having won a national championship at Triton College. We look forward to getting to work with him." 

The 6-9 forward spent two seasons at LSU, one redshirting and one playing, after transferring up from Triton College. He is a native of Elgin, Illinois and played prep basketball at Elgin High School. 

Cooper saw limited action for the Tigers during the 2019-20 season, appearing in 11 games. In those games he shot 6-of-7 from the field and pulled down 19 rebounds. 

While playing at Triton College during the 2017-18 season, Cooper started 35 games and averaged 10.1 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game and finished the season with 103 blocks. He also shot 55 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the three-point line. The team claimed the Division II Junior College National Championship his lone season as a Trojan.   

During his high school career in Elgin, he was named All-Conference twice for basketball, and three different times for volleyball. 

Cooper will have two seasons of eligibility remaining in a Thunderbird uniform. 

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