Trojans assistant coach Cooper dies at age 29
Aaron Cooper, an assistant coach for the Hot Springs Trojans boys basketball team for the past two seasons, died Saturday. He was 29.
The school district offered its condolences in a Facebook post Sunday morning and said counseling would be available for students.
“Please keep his family and our Trojan Family who was lucky enough to coach and teach alongside him in your thoughts during this time of mourning,” the post said. “He brought so much color, life, and compassion to our school and community. HSSD Counselors will be available (today) and throughout the week to support students; students should reach out by phone call or email to connect.”
Cooper was a graduate of Henderson State University, where he started 28 of the 40 games he played in for the Reddies in his junior and senior seasons. He played his first two years at Missouri State and Delta State.
Trojans head coach Antoni Lasker said Saturday night that Cooper was like a brother to him and would “give someone the shirt off of his back.”
“My youngest daughter, she’d been talking, even before today, she’d been talking about coach Cooper for the last two weeks,” he explained. “His name would just randomly pop up out of her mouth, whether she was asking about him or saying he said something. She hadn’t been around a month … but that’s just the type of impact he had on my kids being around them. He just always showed them love was always there for them, like he was their uncle. … We were family, like I told him the last time we sat and talked,’ It’s always going to be bigger than basketball with me and Coop. I looked at him like a brother. We were family; it stings, man. It really hurts.”
Lasker said that his young assistant also brought things to the table that helped him become a better coach.
“He taught me how to just be the same person every day,” he said. “Sometimes I would let whatever I may have going on in my personal life — my first year I was kind of guilty of bringing that to practice. He would always tell me personally stuff that he had going on, but he never brought it to practice. He never let it affect him. He never let the kids see him down or anything like that, and that’s something that I learned from him, and I’ve taken that, and I think that’s made me a 10 times better coach because of that.”
Lasker also recounted a story of how Cooper cared about the kids on the team. The pair had a meeting on Zoom, a video conferencing website, where they discussed a player who was having some personal issues outside of basketball.
“We had this conversation at about 10 a.m.,” he recalled. “I think about 3 or 4 o’clock, Coop went looking for that kid. He called me about 9 o’clock, telling me he had just found him and talked to him. … That’s just the type of guy he was. He spent five, six hours looking for a kid that’s not even his son, just trying to put some words of wisdom into the kid, so he don’t go down the wrong path or make some horrible life decisions they could cost him his life or have him end up in jail.”
Dozens of people posted their condolences and remembrances on social media.
HSU athletic director Shawn Jones expressed his thoughts about Cooper’s death on Twitter Saturday night.
“Crushing news,” the tweet said. “Will always be proud of the teammate Coop was, the lessons he learned here & how he grew..the degree he earned..& how he was impacting kids in a positive way as a coach. So proud of that! Will never forget his smile/ laugh. Charmed me out of being mad 1 or 2 times.”
Hot Springs head girls basketball coach Josh Smith said on Twitter Saturday that he “was lucky to work beside him for 2 years. He impacted everybody he was around. Always smiling and joking! Glad you taught my son to shoot. I’ll remind Paxton forever.”
Many friends and acquaintances shared their condolences and recounted stories on Facebook, as well.
HSU head men’s basketball coach Jimmy Elgas said in a Facebook post Sunday that Cooper was “one of the most impactful young men to ever be a part of our basketball family.”
“His infectious smile, positive attitude, determination, competitiveness and genuine goodness will forever be missed but never forgotten,” it read. “Beginning as a player and transitioning to an assistant coach, Coop had the most special way to bond with players and help every coach around him. We share the mourning and grief of everyone in the Hot Springs High School basketball community, as you had the privilege of having him in your program as well. Our hearts are broken, but Coop’s spirit will forever live on here at Henderson State. We love you Coop, team together.”