Koch has strong bond with the Hawkeyes

There comes a time in every father/son relationship on the basketball court when the child gets over the hump and gets a victory over dad.

That’s already happened with former Hawkeye J.R. Koch and his son Cooper.

“We don’t play anymore. His knees are too bad and he’s getting too old,” Cooper Koch said with a laugh.

But, the basketball gym has been their place to build those bonds and for a father to share his love of the game with his son.

“It’s been fun. I feel like I have been around the game basically my entire life,” Koch said. “I have been watching my dad shoot in the gym since I was three years old. We really didn’t start to get serious about it with me until I was in fifth or six grade and we started working and have been doing that ever since then.”

These days, Cooper Koch is making quite a name for himself. The 6-foot-7 and 195 pound wing prospect in the Class of 2024 already has offers from Iowa and Bradley and a host of other schools are banging on his door.

Having a father who played the game at a high level certainly helps build the foundation that coaches across the country will appreciate.

“It helps having a dad who understands the game and has played the game because he knows what the scouts and coaches are looking for from a player and I can key in on that.”

Part of the basketball relationship for the Koch’s also included Iowa basketball. It meant driving over from Peoria to Iowa City to watch the Hawkeyes play at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It also meant attending Iowa basketball camps in his younger years and building a relationship with Fran McCaffery.

“Fran would also mess with me when I was at the camps,” Koch said with a laugh.

Now that relationship with Iowa basketball and McCaffery is evolving again. It’s moved from a coach messing with the son of a former Hawkeye to wanting that blossoming prospect to eventually joining his program. That step became official recently when McCaffery offered Cooper Koch a scholarship and the son was more excited than the dad when the news was delivered.

“I was probably more excited than he was because that’s been my dream since I knew that he went there. I know he’s happy about Iowa offering me, but he really just wants me to go to a place that will make me happy.”

Koch now holds offers from Iowa, Bradley, Wake Forest, and Western Illinois. He is also getting interest from Illinois and Purdue. Is there a temptation to end his recruitment early given his ties to Iowa?

“It’s always a thought,” he said. “There’s always a temptation to just be done with recruiting, but we will have to see.”

Koch is sidelined this weekend after rolling his ankle and didn’t play with his Peoria Notre Dame squad. Starting in July, he will be back with his Indiana Elite team playing at events in Indianapolis, Alabama, Omaha, and Las Vegas.