Cooper Page is spark for Naperville Central
Naperville Central senior guard Cooper Page’s game is played entirely below the rim.
Sometimes well below.
“Cooper is one of the toughest kids I’ve seen,” Naperville Central coach Mike Wilson said. “He hits the floor more than any player I’ve ever seen.”
This is not an exaggeration. Page’s teammates readily attest to his courageous character.
“It’s true,” Naperville Central senior point guard TJ Hillman said. “Even on Saturday mornings, in training, he is the first to go to the ground.
“If there’s a ball on the ground, he’s going to get it, and that takes courage. That’s what you can’t coach.”
The 6-foot-1 Page, who also plays baseball, said he models his scrappy playing style after that of his father, David, who played both sports at York and baseball at Valparaiso University.
“I take more pride in my defense than my offense,” Page said. “My father was the same, and I guess I got it from him.
“He coached me growing up at the YMCA and traveling through my youth. We would always do rebound drills and there would be a no-fault rule, so whoever gets the ball wins.”
Wilson said Page, who averages nearly seven rebounds, easily towers over his size.
“He’s always had that energy and toughness, but defensively now he’s had stretches where he’s defended a Division I player, a Division II player, a Division I player,” Wilson said. “We know when we watch film that whoever the best player on the opposing team is, no matter how big or small, that’s Coop’s game, and then we’ll figure it out from there.”
Page and the Redhawks figured things out Wednesday. Hillman scored a game-high 22 points, while Page added three points, six rebounds and two assists and helped hold visiting Plainfield North to 17 percent shooting as the Redhawks ended a five-game losing streak with a 48-28 win at Naperville.
“It’s been huge,” Hillman said. “His biggest improvement is on the defensive side of the ball. I know it’s hard to do, but he gets his best player in every game we play, and he always stops them.
“Every time he goes after someone, he doesn’t let them score.”
Hillman is not immune to Page’s tough defense.
“He keeps me in practice every day,” Hillman said. “It’s a tough day for me every day. It makes me better.”
As Page usually does, he focused most of his energy on defense. Early in the game, he grabbed a defensive rebound, ran down the court, was fouled and split two free throws to give the Redhawks (8-12) a 4-0 lead.
Page then contributed to Hillman’s layup that made it 9-2. It was part of a 17-4 opening series against the Tigers (4-15).
Page made his only shot of the game, taking a pass from senior forward Casey Cooperkawa and corralling a short shot off the glass to extend the lead to 26-11 at 6:11 of the third quarter. In an era where many players ignore the backboard, Page has put it to good use.
“He’s definitely a throwback in that sense,” Wilson said. “He’ll do some things that we say, ‘Oh, we did that in the ’90s.'”
Page’s willingness to sacrifice his body while searching for loose balls inspires the Redhawks the most.
“It keeps the boys going,” Hillman said. “Obviously, scoring is good. Filling up the stat sheet is good and all.
“We just need a guy who puts his heart on the line, goes to the floor and gets the ball. That means a lot to the guys on the bench and the guys on the court. It makes you want to play a lot harder.”
Although the Redhawks struggled with inconsistency at times, Page said they played hard, which made his final season of basketball his most enjoyable.
“It’s been really fun,” he said. “A lot more competitive games than last year, that’s for sure. Everyone is playing a lot harder this year. It’s like a butterfly effect: one guy plays hard and brings energy, then everyone else follows.”
Page is that Redhawks guy.
“Our message is always ‘play as hard as you can, get better and enjoy the game,’ and I think he bought into the ‘enjoy the game’ part,” Wilson said. “There’s nothing he loves more than competing hard.”
“When I say, ‘Ouch,’ he says, ‘Now is the right time.'”
Matt Le Cren is an independent journalist.
