The GLIAC is full of glee these days because it recently landed one of the state's top prep hoop prospects.

Kyle Cooper, a 6-foot-7 small forward out of Novi Detroit Catholic Central, committed to Hillsdale last week, taking a leading recruit from the area's Class of 2012 off the board.

This fall, the multi-talented Cooper is quarterbacking the Shamrocks football team, the No. 1 ranked team in Michigan in Division 1.

A three-year starter for the CC basketball squad, he averaged 17 points, eight rebounds and close to three blocks a game, while being selected both all-Catholic League and all-state and helping take his team to a spot in the Class A regional finals last season. His inside-outside arsenal is as good as anyone in Oakland County, in this journalist's opinion.

Snaring Cooper is a real coup for the GLIAC, since he was considered in many circles a sure-fire D1 recruit. He will join forces with fellow Shamrocks two-sport standout Matt Doneth (D1 recruit as TE in football) on the hardwood this winter to give head coach Bill Dyer and his CC Cage Crew a great shot at making a trip to the Breslin Center in East Lansing come March.