SEATTLE (July 1) - Keith Cooper, an alumnus of Seattle Pacific University and an experienced college and high school coach, has been named the new assistant men's basketball coach for the Falcons, said head coach Jeff Hironaka.

Cooper comes to SPU from Central Washington, where he spent the past two seasons as the top aide to Greg Sparling. Previously he was an assistant at Pacific Lutheran, interim head coach at Shoreline Community College and head coach of Federal Way's Decatur High School from 1995-2000. Decatur was the state 3A runner-up in 1996 and made two other state tourney appearances during his tenure.

A 1988 graduate of Seattle Pacific, Cooper is married to Linda Johnson, a former All-America forward and career scoring leader for the Falcons. They have a young son.