Recruiting Report: Cooper Hansen (2019)
***Photo Credit: Marshall Independent*** Russell-Tyler-Ruthton won the state title a year ago and are off to a solid start again this season. One of the constants in the program’s success in recent years has been Cooper Hansen. Hansen, a 6-foot-1…
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Continue Reading***Photo Credit: Marshall Independent***
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton won the state title a year ago and are off to a solid start again this season. One of the constants in the program’s success in recent years has been Cooper Hansen.
Hansen, a 6-foot-1 senior, is averaging 20 points, better than seven rebounds and nearly five assists per game after putting up 11 points, six rebounds and four assists per game as a junior. He’s producing at a high level and the Knights are among the best teams in Class A because of him and his brother Carter.
“To be able to take a bigger role on our team, be more of a leader, that’s important to me,” said Cooper. “The rest of our guys have had some experience but not as much so Carter and I have to really step up and lead the team. We’ve got some guys that are getting a chance to shine so it’s exciting.”
Hansen does a lot of things well. He’s a plus-athlete on the wing and uses it to his advantage as his strength is getting to the paint and either scoring or making plays. He’s very good in transition and his activity level allows him to maintain a high level of consistency. He’s also one of the premier perimeter defenders in the state.
RTR lost a big chunk of the core that won a state championship a season ago and while it means more is on Hansen’s plate, the Knights still have high expectations and are should be competitive all winter.
“There’s a lot of good competition all the way through,” Hansen said. “Minneota is great. Dawson-Boyd is frightening with how talented they are. Southwest Christian. There might be four or five teams that can really compete for a section title. It’s kind of going to be about who is playing their best at the end of the year and we’ll go from there.
“We’re just going to worry about one game at a time and not focus on big picture until later in the year. We want to make a run eventually but we don’t want that to be the only thing we focus on.”
Cooper and his brother are drawing quite a bit of interest to play football and basketball at the next level. He said they haven’t made a decision as to where they’ll be yet, but it sounds like they’ll be somewhere together. And they’ve got plenty of options.
“We kind of want to take as much time as possible and find the right school,” said Hansen. “Sports are great but the academics are huge for us too. The right fit is really important. As far as football versus basketball, we love competition so much that it could go either way. At the moment, I’m not sure but we’ve been talking with Bethany Lutheran for basketball, SMSU for basketball and Dakota State for basketball and football. Also been talking to Presentation in Aberdeen about football. It could go either way right now.”