UNO basketball legend Wayne Cooper dies at 65

Former University of New Orleans Privateers center Wayne Cooper has passed away at the age of 65.

One of the best players in program history capped a stellar four-year college career by earning the Sun Belt Conference player of the year honor as a senior when he averaged 18.1 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. During that campaign, he managed a stretch featuring school records of 13 consecutive games with double-digit rebounds amd 11 straight double-doubles.

The Privateers went to the NCAA Division II national title game in Cooper’s freshman year. The following three seasons as a new Division I program, UNO won 18 games in both his sophomore and junior years before a 21-6 campaign in 1977-78 that featured the school’s first Sun Belt Tournament championship.

Overall, UNO went 80-31 (.721) in Cooper’s four seasons.

Drafted 40th overall in the 1978 NBA Draft, Cooper spent his two professional seasons with the Golden State Warriors. The 6-foot-10 Georgia native also played for Utah, Dallas, Denver and Portland over 14 seasons. In his second stint with the Blazers, he was part of a pair of NBA Finals teams (1990, 1992).

After his playing days, Cooper spent nearly two decades as an executive in the Sacramento Kings front office.

Cooper was inducted into the inaugural UNO Athletics Hall of Fame class in 1988. The school also recently honored him as the second greatest player in program history, behind only Ervin Johnson. Cooper is also in the Louisiana Basketball Coaches Association and Greater New Orleans Sports halls of fame.

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