Boys’ basketball: Cooper is interim coach at Dominguez

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Seems like we’ve seen this before.

Russell Otis is brushed aside in the wake of alleged wrongdoing while another coach swoops in to take his spot at Compton Dominguez. It happened in 2001, when Mack Calvin was hired after Otis was acquitted of sexual molestation claims made by a former player.

And now it’s happening again, as Duane Cooper has been hired on an interim basis to coach the Dons while Otis is on paid administrative leave as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigates an allegation of criminal misconduct.

‘I wanted to help because I felt like it was a good group of kids and I wanted to keep some continuity within the program,’ Cooper said Friday. ‘I hope I have a positive impact on some young men’s lives.’

Cooper, a former USC standout who spent two seasons in the NBA with the Lakers and Phoenix Suns, said he has little coaching experience outside of youth basketball. He had most recently worked as West Coast director of grass roots basketball for Excel Sports Management until August.

Cooper inherits returning starters Thurman Woods, Myron Green and Dominick Lacoste from last year’s Southern Section Division I-AA championship team, though star Jordan Hamilton’s bid to play one more season apparently ended when the section officials denied his hardship waiver earlier this month.

--Ben Bolch