AUBURN — One of Auburn basketball's most talented former point guards is getting called up to the NBA.

Sharife Cooper signed a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the organization announced Monday afternoon. Cooper had been playing with the Cleveland Charge, which is the G League affiliate of the Cavaliers. Cooper has averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 33.9 minutes per game over 19 starts with the Charge this season.

The 6-foot Cooper hasn't appeared in an NBA game since April 10, 2022. He was then a member of the Atlanta Hawks, who drafted him with the No. 48 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Cooper spent one season with the Tigers, appearing in 12 games after the NCAA didn't declare him eligible until the middle of the season. He averaged 20.2 points, 8.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds and a steal in 33.1 minutes per game. He made 39.1% of his shots from the field, including 22.8% of his attempts from 3-point range.

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"All he does is worry about what he can control," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said of Cooper in January 2023. "Everything that kid's been through since he's gotten into college, he was mistreated by the NCAA in holding him out, and yet he overcame it. And then his draft stock wasn't what it was, but he gets drafted and all he does is just take advantage of the moment. I don't know if he's the leading scorer in the G League, but he's right there.

"Just like when he was at Auburn, your preparation has got to be how to stop Sharife Cooper and his ability to score and make others better. ... What Sharife is doing is putting himself in position for that next team to find him, so I'm very, very happy for him. Proud of him."

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Sharife Cooper: Former Auburn basketball PG signs NBA deal