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2021 Pirate Player Preview: Sidney Cooks

Date: July 28, 2021

By: Joe Matthews

Sidney Cooks shoots a basketball during a game with Mississippi State.

Mississippi State Athletics

Heading into next season, the Seton Hall Pirates women’s basketball team will be adding a big-time transfer from Mississippi State. 

Does that sentence sound familiar?

It should.

Prior to last season, head coach Tony Bozzella and his staff were able to add a former Bulldog via the transfer portal in Andra Espinoza-Hunter. And as Pirate fans know, that worked out spectacularly. This year, we could be having deja vu, as the Pirates went out and added Mississippi State forward/center Sidney Cooks.

Cooks will come to South Orange, N.J. with two years of eligibility after time at both Michigan State and Mississippi State. Coming out of high school, she was a top-five recruit in the entire nation and also was a McDonald’s All-American.

And she showed that talent in spurts during her time at the MSUs.

Her freshman year at Michigan State, Cooks showed out big time, averaging 9.5 points-per-game and 4.7 rebounds-per-game. She followed that up with a near identical sophomore campaign, tallying 9.5 points-per-game again, and 4.5 rebounds-per-game. She sat out the 2019-20 campaign after transferring to Mississippi State due to NCAA transfer rules but played in this past 2020-21 season for the Bulldogs. In 19 games, she averaged 6.1 points-per-game and 3.3 rebounds-per-game. 

Now she looks to continue her success at Seton Hall. And one important thing to note about her previous stats. She did all that while only averaging 19 minutes-per-game in her career. Now, in a situation where she figures to see upwards of 30 minutes every night, her numbers can take an even further jump.

But behind those basic stat-lines, what is going to make Cooks such a dominant force on the court this year?

Well perhaps the fact that she is an absolute sniper from behind the arc. This past year at Mississippi State, a mind-blowing 80% of Cooks’ points came from the three-ball. In her sophomore year at Michigan State, she shot for 40.7% from deep, ranking her in the 94th percentile in the nation.

Remember how I said she was a McDonald’s All-American in high school? Well, she also participated in the three-point contest in the games, in case you still had any doubt about her shooting ability.

And keep in mind, she’s doing this while standing 6-foot-4. Cue jaw-drop.

Seton Hall already has an elite three-point shooter in Espinoza-Hunter, but putting another sharpshooter out there with her to stretch the floor? Mamma mia. This Pirates offense can be something truly special.

And while we mention Espinoza-Hunter again, it’s important to note that not only is she a former Bulldog like Cooks, but they were actually teammates during the 2019-20 season. Despite sitting out that season, she was with the team nonetheless, and with the old teammates reuniting this year, we could really see Espinoza-Hunter and Cooks click and help each other’s games develop further in a big way.

Now, not only is Cooks a legitimate offensive threat, but she’ll provide some major help on the defensive end of the floor. At Michigan State, she averaged 0.8 and 1.1 blocks-per-game in her freshman and sophomore years, respectively. Those were good for the 90th and 94th percentile in the entire nation. Opponents in the Big East will find it a hard task to score down low on the Pirates when Cooks is out on the floor. 

One more key thing about Cooks’ game to keep an eye on is her free-throw shooting. Her numbers were a bit down this past season at Mississippi State, shooting only 57% from the charity stripe, but her freshman campaign at Michigan State saw her shoot 80% from the line, and she shot 76.3% in her sophomore year. If she can regain that solid shooting stroke from her early collegiate years, and even take it a little bit further, it’s not outrageous to say we could see a 50/40/90 season from Sidney Cooks this season. 

Could you imagine that? A 50/40/90 player who is also one of the fiercest rim-protectors in the nation? That’s an absolute nightmare for opposing teams. But folks will be sleeping soundly at Seton Hall, because Cooks will be suiting up in the blue and white for this upcoming season. 

Sidney Cooks.

The rest of the Big East, and the whole nation at that, should keep that name on their mind.

Because she’s coming to wreak havoc this season.

Joe Matthews is an Assistant Sports Director for WSOU Sports and can be reached at joseph.matthews@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Women's Basketball, Sports, WSOU

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