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Neese signs with Indiana State following Butler departure
Cooper Neese wasn’t without a college for long, after informing the Butler basketball coaching staff on Sunday morning that he would be leaving the Bulldog program.
On Monday, the former Cloverdale star received his release from Butler and a few hours later he signed a national letter-of-intent to play for Indiana State starting in the 2018-19 season.
Neese will sit out this season as a transfer redshirt, and will have seven semesters of eligibility. He will begin playing at the conclusion of the fall 2018 semester.
The 6-4 shooting guard signed with Butler in November of 2016 after verbally committing to coach Chris Holtmann’s program earlier that year, and leaves Butler without ever suiting up in a game for the Bulldogs.
Neese accompanied Butler on its trip to Spain in August, but was unable to play due to a hand injury suffered prior to the trip. He also accompanied the school’s other freshmen on a trip to New York City last month sponsored by the Big East Conference as an orientation for the league’s first-year student-athletes.
Neese started classes at Butler in June, shortly after playing for the Indiana All-Stars, and practiced with the team when healthy. His entire short-lived Butler came under new coach LaVall Jordan, a former Butler player who was hired from Milwaukee when Holtmann left in June for Ohio State to replace Thad Matta.
Neese said Sunday that Butler was just “not the right fit” for him.
“I couldn’t find a good fit to what I wanted at Butler,” he said. “I felt I couldn’t get in the gym as much as I wanted to make myself a better basketball player. It just built up, and I had to make the best decision to better my future. It has nothing to do with the coaches. It’s different, but that’s not the main reason.”
Neese had originally had offers during high school from Indiana State, Ball State and Evansville prior to receiving an offer from Butler.
He was eager to follow in the footsteps of fellow Cloverdale star Chad Tucker, who is still Butler’s career scoring leader.
“I still love the place, and love the people that were there,” he said. “I love the team, and I loved putting the jersey on for practice. Everything was fine with the academics. But if I’m not happy, I need to go somewhere else.”
Neese said Sunday was hoping to take a day off, and spend Monday cleaning out his dormitory room and officially withdrawing from Butler, and that he hadn’t thought much about his future home.
A little over 24 hours later, he was a Sycamore.
Neese will join a freshman class next year that already includes 6-3 Terre Haute South all-stater DeAvion Washington and 6-8 forward Blank Brinkmeyer of Des Moines, Iowa.
Neese will play for coach Greg Lansing, who is in his eighth year as head coach of the Sycamores.
Lansing led Indiana State to its most recent NCAA tournament appearance in 2010-11 during his first season, and has a career record of 120-108.
The team recorded winning records in Lansing’s first four seasons, including a 23-win season in 2013-14.
The Sycamores have fallen off the past three seasons, however, with records of 15-16, 15-17 and 11-20 during that time.
This year the Sycamores return the only first- or second-team all-Missouri Valley Conference player from last year in senior Brenton Scott, and Lansing has brought in several new recruits — including highly-regarded junior college player Devin Thomas and promising Tennessee high school products Tyreke Key and Clayton Hughes.
Neese finished his career at Cloverdale as the seventh-leading scorer in Indiana High School history, leading the Clovers to three straight sectional titles.
Jordan wished Neese well on his future endeavors.
“We wish Cooper all the best moving forward,” Jordan said in a school news release on Sunday afternoon. “He expressed to me that he didn’t think Butler and our program were a fit for him, and he wanted to make this move before the season began.”
