Lashanda-Smith Cooper hired as RHS girls basketball coach

Ruston High School is hiring a proven champion to take over its girls basketball program.

Lashanda-Smith Cooper, who turned the Northwood-Lena Lady Gators into a powerhouse, accepted the head coaching position at Ruston Friday morning, RHS Principal Dan Gressett confirmed.

Cooper takes over for previous head coach Meredith Graf.

“We are thrilled to have coach Cooper on board,” Gressett said. “She’s a very successful coach, having won a couple of championships in the last few years. We had a good idea of what we were looking for, and after meeting with her on Wednesday we knew we had found our next head coach. She is very respected throughout the state, and we feel like one of the top basketball coaches in the state. We are fortunate to get her and can’t wait for her to get started. She will be a great fit and a great addition to Ruston High School.”

Since becoming head coach at Northwood-Lena for the 2020- 21 season, Cooper not only took the school to its first-ever state championship appearance in 2021 but delivered the school its first state title in 2022.

After being named 2022 LSWA Class 1A Coach of the Year, Cooper led Northwood to another state championship in the 2022-23 season.

“My main reason for taking this job in Ruston is I’m a firm believer in God, and the opportunity just presented itself. We discussed the position, and I stepped out on faith and went from there,” Cooper said.

Northwood has made the state championship in each of the last four seasons, playing as a two-seed or better in the last three postseasons as well.

Cooper’s resume includes more than 90 career wins at Northwood and a full trophy case, but she said her goal in coming to Ruston starts with building strong relationships with her players. For her, success can’t happen without that.

“I get results from my players, but my relationship with them is bigger than basketball,” Cooper said. “ I don’t just coach the player. I coach the person too. I truly want to build relationships in the community and with the kids and the parents. That’s played a major part in previous success.”

With six graduating seniors, including the team’s two leading scorers, Cooper said Ruston may be in for a rebuild of sorts. But after building Northwood from the cellar of Class 1A into the standard, she’s embracing the challenge.

“I’m a firm believer in the process,” Cooper said. “We were 10-122 when I first got to Northwood. I embraced it, and we turned it around. It’s a different situation here, but I know it’s going to take work. It takes strong discipline and accountability on a team. And not just accountability from coaches. When players hold each other accountable, you’re headed towards success.”

As for jumping up from 1A coaching to 5A, Cooper said a label means nothing when it comes to fundamentals and program-building.

“When we got to Northwood, there was no way we were ready to play 5A or 4A schools. When we went to the first state championship, I knew we were ready skill wise but not mentally in terms of believing we could win,” Cooper said. “From that point on, I said, ‘We’re done with all that.’ We played Airline and ASH and Parkway. Once we beat ASH or Airline, you saw the girls had their heads held high. In my view, 1A and 5A are just a number. You just coach them up and get out there and play.”