Former South Carolina basketball point guard gets new professional contract

Former South Carolina basketball point guard Ta'Lon Cooper spent some time this summer with the NBA's Orlando Magic, but after not getting much of a real opportunity to prove himself, the Summer League ended, and Cooper didn't stick on the team's crowded roster.

On Sunday, per an announcement from the team that was reposted by Cooper, the Palmetto State native signed a new professional contract as he inked a deal with RHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the German Basketball Bundesliga.

RHP Riesen has finished in the top-10 of the 18-team Basketball Bundesliga every year for the past 11 years but has not won a championship during that time. Originally part of the second-tier in the relegation-based league, RHP Riesen earned its way up to the top league after its first year and, after being relegated once in the mid-1990s, the club won its way back up to the top league again a few years later.

During his South Carolina basketball career (which was just one season as he transferred to his home-state program from Minnesota ahead of the 2023-2024 campaign), Cooper showed himself to be the best true point guard to play in Columbia in quite some time, potentially the best since the legendary Tre Kelley.

#55 led the team in 3-point shooting percentage (45.9%) and assists (4.2 assists), and he was one of the country's best players in terms of assist-to-turnover ratio (4.2-1.2). The graduate transfer was an easy All-SEC selection, and he garnered real consideration for the SEC's all-defensive team and generated a little bit of NBA Draft buzz despite not having any heading into the year.

Cooper is a tough-minded defender, leader, and floor general as a point guard, so it is almost certain that he will have a long professional career. He and his RHP Riesen squad will begin their season in September.