Peoria Notre Dame’s Cooper Koch fulfills childhood dream, commits to Iowa

PEORIA (Heart of Illinois ABC) - “I’ve been leaning that way for a while and I just felt like the time was right just to get it over with and I felt like it was the right decision.”

Cooper Koch has always been a fan of Iowa Hawkeyes basketball. His dad, J.R. was a standout at Iowa in the 90′s and Cooper grew up going to Hawkeyes camps and games.

“I went to their camp when I was in 4th grade for the first time,” the younger Koch said. “And in 7th grade I dropped like 40 in an all-star game and I think that’s when Coach McCaffery finally said, yeah, we want to offer him.”

The offer came and it seemed like it was only a matter of time until the commitment and that commitment came Thursday afternoon. Cooper announcing he will play his college basketball at his dream school

“Going to the games as a young kid it was memorable being there and knowing my dad played there and seeing all the guys come through,” Koch said. “Wisconsin and Purdue made it a hard decision but in the end, Iowa was the front runner.”

Cooper is one of the more versatile players in the Class of 2024. A threat to knock down a deep trey. A threat to take it to the rack for a jam or post you up, Cooper says he’ll get a chance to do a little bit of everything at Iowa

“They see me as a guy that can play the wing and if I get the rebound bring it up and if I get a small on me, get in the post,” Koch said. “Just a playmaker in general.”

A playmaking, 6-foot-9 sharpshooter, Koch still has two more years of high school basketball but he’s very excited to be an Iowa Hawkeye and bring more wins to Iowa City

“Yeah, I think they’ve got a bright future and a few more Big Ten championships,” Koch said “It’s amazing. I just can’t wait to get over there and start.”

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