Nuggets’ Cooper Throws Weight Around

The very first thing Denver Nuggets president-general manager Vince Boryla said when the Nuggets took the floor at Regis College Field House to begin training camp last Friday was: “Would you look at Coop; he looks great.”

And that was before Wayne Cooper and the rest of the Nuggets had begun their first practice of the National Basketball Assn. preseason.

It was Cooper’s physical development, brought about by a summer of serious weight lifting, that caught Boryla’s eye, and Boryla still is telling anyone who will listen to “look at Coop,” and predicting a big season for the seven-year veteran center from the University of New Orleans.

“He’s as improved as any player on the squad from this time last year to this time this year,” said Boryla, the ex-New York Knicks pivotman who knows a thing or two about NBA big men. “If he continues to play like he has so far in camp, he’ll really be something this season. He’s doing things effortlessly, and he seems confident and sure of himself. He works hard, and is just very, very impressive.”

What is Cooper doing to so impress his boss, and just about everyone else?

Primarily, the 6-foot-10, 230-pound center is throwing his weight around. He is playing aggressively, both on offense and defense. He is putting the ball on the floor more effectively, driving to the basket and making the kind of power moves required to survive in the “paint” in the NBA. He is muscling people, instead of being the “muscle-ee.”

Pete Babcock, Nuggets’ director of player personnel and supervisor of much of Cooper’s summer program of strength training and skills development, said the things Cooper has always done well--rebounding, blocking shots and shooting the open jump shot--he is doing much better, and credits Cooper’s added strength. And what Cooper has not done well throughout his career--play effectively against the league’s muscle men--he should be able to do better, as well.

“As hard as he tried in the past, it was tough for him to battle some of the real strong guys,” Babcock said, “but he has narrowed the gap.”

The improved play, and the subsequent raves, “is what I worked so hard for all summer,” Cooper said. “Right now I feel pretty good. I just want to be able to keep it up throughout the season.”

Cooper would like to be regarded as one of the league’s better centers, but said it is most important to him to help the Nuggets repeat the success they enjoyed last season.

“It’s not one of my goals to be thought of as one of the great centers,’ he said. “I’d rather play up to my potential every game and win. I think I’m a winner, and I’d like to be thought of as a winner.”

Nuggets’ Coach Doug Moe would like Cooper to play up to his potential all the time, too. The one thing that has held him back throughout his career, Moe said, has been inconsistency. When Cooper plays aggressively, Moe said, he is an outstanding center. When he does not, he is not.

“He needed to get stronger,” Moe said, “but what he really needs is some strength up here, in the head. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean he’s dumb. He’s a very intelligent guy. But I’d trade 50% of the strength he’s got now for him to be as tough mentally as Alex (English) or Calvin (Natt).”

If Cooper can develop that mental toughness, Moe said, “He’ll be not just a good center, but one of the better centers in the NBA. If the added strength is what it takes to give him that mental toughness, then that’s great.”

“He played pretty darn good last year,” Moe said. “I can remember Coop dominating games early in the season. Our first game against Houston, he completely dominated it, and against (Ralph) Sampson. We got off to such a good start last year because Coop’s a darn good player.”

Cooper would like nothing better than to develop the consistency Moe wants, become one of the NBA’s better centers, and be the Nuggets’ starting center for years to come.