Rising to the Occasion : Tougher the Competition, the Better Duane Cooper Plays in Role of Catalytic Point Guard for USC

D uane Cooper hands Harold Miner a pen and watches as he signs a $20 - million, four-year contract with the Chicago Bulls.

In addition to the contract, Cooper has negotiated a deal to have a shoe named after his former teammate at USC and has lined up endorsements with a soft drink company and a breakfast cereal.

Cooper is trying to work out a deal for Miner to buy a soft drink distribution franchise in Chicago. He has hired a ghostwriter to write Miner’s autobiography and he has encouraged Miner to take acting lessons in the hopes that Miner can land a role in a movie.

Call this Duane Cooper’s backup plan.

After interning at Management Plus, a sports management firm headed by Leonard Armato, Cooper hopes to become an agent if he can’t land a spot on an NBA team after he graduates from USC in May.

“I learned a lot of things,” Cooper said. “I learned a lot about the business. It’s something I’d like to get into. You don’t always have the same hours, and you don’t get into a rut.”

If Cooper works as diligently at becoming a sports agent as he has in running USC’s basketball team, he probably will be successful.

A 6-foot-1 senior point guard, Cooper has led the 13th-ranked Trojans to their most productive season since 1979 with a 19-4 record, 11-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

USC’s second-leading scorer behind Miner, Cooper is averaging 11.7 points and a team-high 5.7 assists. He is the Trojans’ most accurate shooter (50%) and the second-best three-point shooter.

USC Coach George Raveling said Cooper has played a pivotal role in USC’s success during the last two seasons.

Cooper became a starter three games into last season when the Trojans went to a three-guard offense, and he helped USC earn its first NCAA tournament berth since 1985.

After guard Robert Pack graduated last year, Cooper was moved to point guard and has become the Trojans’ floor leader. He has 132 assists, 44 fewer than the school record set by Larry Friend in 1985.

“I said earlier this year that Cooper’s the MVP of the team, and I still feel that way,” Raveling said. “He’s the catalyst of the team. He’s the guy that makes us go. Without him, we can’t make it. He’s our battery.”

Cooper is averaging 16.8 points and shooting 56.8%--60.9% from three-point range--in the Trojans’ four games against nationally ranked teams.

Cooper had 18 points when USC defeated then-No. 4 Ohio State, 79-77, in overtime in December. After making a three-point shot to send the game into overtime, Cooper set up Miner for the winning shot with a lob pass on an inbounds play with 11 seconds remaining and one second left on the shot clock.

Cooper scored a career-high 23 points and had four rebounds and seven assists when USC upset then-No. 2-ranked UCLA, 86-82, last month at Pauley Pavilion. Cooper made seven of 11 shots--including four of five three-point shots--and sank three free throws in the final 2:36. USC plays host to the fourth-ranked Bruins tonight at 6:30 at the Sports Arena.

Although USC has won two in a row against UCLA and three of the last four, Cooper says he doesn’t think the Bruins respect the Trojans after reading comments by UCLA forward Don MacLean.

“To lose to a team like this, in our own gym, is a joke,” MacLean told the Daily News after last month’s loss to the Trojans. “And there’s no way that that should happen. On their best day, they shouldn’t be able to beat us.”

MacLean’s quote is taped to the door of the USC basketball office.

“I think they may have overlooked us (in the first game), but after what MacLean said, I think there’s a lack of respect for us,” Cooper said. “It’s painful to hear.

“They’re No. 4 in the country, and they pride themselves on scoring a lot of points. I’m sure (MacLean) was just really mad at that particular time and things just came out. I hope he doesn’t feel that way.

“Getting into a grudge match would be taking us down a level. We just have to play hard and do the things that are necessary for us to win.”

Named to the All-Southern Section and All-State high school basketball teams in 1986-87 after leading Lakewood High to the Southern Section 5-A championship game, Cooper chose USC over Arizona, New Mexico, Clemson and Texas El Paso because he admired Raveling.

Although the Trojans finished last and tied for last in the conference in Cooper’s first two seasons, compiling a 17-42 record, he never second-guessed his decision to attend USC.

“We struggled, but that makes the winning a lot better,” Cooper said. “I came here because of the challenge. People said that USC couldn’t win. It’s an unbelievable feeling (to be successful this season). We’ve all come together. You want to get better, but you want to enjoy the experience. That’s the bad thing about it. But I’m sure I’ll look back on it.”

Said Raveling: “He’s seen the alpha and the omega of USC basketball. What better statement can a human being make than to walk away from something and to be able to say that ‘I left it better than when I came’? “

A fifth-year senior, Cooper missed the 1989-90 season after suffering a broken right foot in a preseason pickup game. He had just been cleared to play after sustaining a stress fracture in the foot, an injury that sidelined him for 10 weeks.

Although he was unable to play, Cooper attended every home game, sitting behind the Trojan bench.

“I sat right behind the coaches,” Cooper said. “I felt I needed to be close to the team. I felt I could learn some things, and I heard the things that coach said (to the players) about the decisions they made and I tried to learn from that. I thought to myself, ‘What would I have done in the same situation?’

“It was really frustrating because you want to be there to help. They struggled that year, and you always feel like you could do something. I had a hard time. I didn’t always go to practice because I hate to sit on the side.

“But I think (the injury) was a blessing in disguise. It was the first year that I hadn’t played since the fifth grade. It helped me in school. I dropped down to 12 units, and I did better in class.”

Raveling says Cooper became a more intelligent player after observing games from behind the bench.

“I’ve never coached a player who’s more committed to the team and to winning than Cooper is,” Raveling said. “A lot of guys will tell you that they’d do anything in the world to win, but what they’re really saying under their breath is ‘but make sure you read the small print.’

“If Cooper tells you he’d do anything to win, he really means it. If you told Cooper that we could win if he didn’t shoot the ball, he’d do it. He’d do anything I’d ask him to do to win. And he’s the hardest-working player on the team.”

Cooper shares a house near the USC campus with teammate Yamen Sanders. Their other roommate is Molly, a python.

“The snake is mysterious,” Cooper said. “People say things about the snake that are untrue. It’s like the color black. People always associate black with bad. The snake is always associated with the same kind of things because they’re sneaky.”

Cooper’s teammates aren’t as fond of the snake as he is.

“Miner is afraid of it,” Cooper said. “Harold hates the snake. We had (a team dinner) at the house and one of the guys asked me to take it out. I put it by Harold and he almost started crying. He ran. He was really scared.”