It has been a busy few weeks in the recruitment of Cooper Noard. Towards the end of August, the 6’2” guard from Glenbrook South High School and the Illinois Wolves, initially committed to Army West Point. However, that decision did not last long for Noard who decommitted shortly thereafter and has since made a commitment to another school in the state of New York, this time Cornell. 

When speaking about his initial pledge to Army West Point, Noard said “I couldn’t get my mind one hundred percent committed to Army so I decided it wouldn’t be the best fit for me overall.” 

Cornell had initially offered Noard before his commitment to Army West Point. Once he opened his recruitment back up, Noard said “it was basically Cornell” recruiting him the most. “The coaches at Cornell kept the offer that they had for me and the coaches always believed in me and found me as a priority. I decided I didn’t want to go anywhere else but Cornell, so I decided to commit.”

“I really loved it. I had a blast,” Noard said regarding his recent visit to Cornell. “The education is the best of the best in the country,” he stated on why he picked the Ivy League university. “Also, I love the coaches there and they see me making a big impact as soon as I step on campus. The campus is also beautiful too. It’s truly the best fit for me.” 

“I see myself fitting in really well into their system. They see me as a player that can come in and make an impact right away so I’m going to work hard to make that happen. I think it’s going to be a great four years there. I can’t wait,” Noard said on how he sees his future with the Big Red program. 

Before his busy few weeks of recruitment, it was also a busy summer on the hardwood for Noard. The senior guard was a key contributor for the 17U Illinois Wolves team that won the Under Armour Association Championship. Noard will be looking to add one more championship before he heads to Ithaca, New York next year with his Glenbrook South team. “Main goal for my senior season is to win the state championship. Nothing else.”