Ryan Cooper, 29, has left Valley Christian-San Jose to take the boys basketball job at Willow Glen, Cooper said.
"Willow Glen offered me an on-campus PE job and the opportunity to be the basketball coach and it's a great career opportunity to have an on-campus job," he said.
Cooper was an off-campus coach at Valley Christian. He has been working for the San Jose Unified School District as a special education instructor, working with youngsters with autism.
Cooper coached Valley Christian the past two seasons, including going 11-15 overall (1-13 league) this past season in the ultra-competitive West Catholic Athletic League.
Cooper’s teams went 17-35 overall during his two years at VC. However, the Warriors had six players on varsity this past season who were sophomores or younger, several of whom played key roles.
Willow Glen went 7-19 in 2015-2016, including a 1-13 record in league under coach Todd Meeker, who retired following the season.
Though Willow Glen did not have a great season this past year, it has been strong in recent seasons.
"They've had a good run," Cooper said of the Rams. "They're one of the better public schools around, talent-wise. There is a good corps of players coming back, especially at guard. I'm excited."
Cooper said he will favor a fast style of play with plenty of outside shooting, similar to the way his team played the past two seasons at VC, which did not have a big presence in the middle.
"We want to get up and down the court and and shoot the 3," Cooper said. "I think we'll have the personnel to do it and we should be fun to watch."
Cooper is a graduate of Notre Dame de Namur University. Besides his stint at Valley Christian, he has also been the head coach at Del Mar and Oak Grove.
In 2012 he led Del Mar to an undefeated league title. At Oak Grove, the Eagles won the BVAL-Mt. Hamilton tournament after Leigh went unbeaten in its division.
Cooper was a two-time All-Pacific West Conference selection and three-time team MVP at Notre Dame de Namur. He finished his college career as the university's fourth all-time leading scorer, as well as being second all-time in career assists and was only the fifth player in university history to score 1,000 points or more.
He played prep ball at Piedmont Hills where his teams won two league titles, including managing a 26-0 regular season. He was a two-time All-Mercury News pick and was a BVAL-Mt. Hamilton MVP. He also set a single-season CCS record for 3-pointers in a season with 124 in 2004.
Cooper said it is difficult to leave his players at Valley Christian.
"The situation is bright there and I think they have a good future with a lot of young talent," he said. "Any time you're dealing with relationships, it's tough."
Valley Christian has not named a new coach.
