AUBURN | It’s eye-opening to see what a difference one player can make to a basketball team.

Admittedly, Sharife Cooper is no ordinary basketball player. But the true freshman has turned an Auburn team that was likely going to finish in the bottom four of the SEC into one that looks like it can compete with and beat any team in the conference.

I can’t recall a single player having this big of an impact on an Auburn team since Cam Newton led Auburn to the 2010 national championship and won the Heisman Trophy.

I’m certainly not predicting Cooper to do the same this season. He can’t due to a self-imposed postseason ban, and unlike Newton a decade ago, he’s not surrounded by a whole bunch of veteran players.

Now next year, if this phenomenal young man was to choose to return for his sophomore season, I’d call him a legitimate Naismith Trophy candidate and I’d certainly consider the Tigers a legitimate national championship contender. He’ll be surrounded by a veteran and hungry team that will be further boosted by the addition of two more big pieces in 5-star power forward Jabari Smith and standout shooting guard Trey Alexander.

Is there any chance Cooper will return next year? I wish I had some real insight into that question but I don’t at the moment. My gut says a kid that talented is going to move on to the the next level quickly. I have no doubt he will be a successful NBA player.

But if I’m taking a contrary view, there are a couple of reasons why I wouldn’t rule out a return. First of all, Cooper is from a wealthy family so money *may* not be as big of a motivational factor as it is for other NBA prospects. It could be a decision based more on what’s best for his development.

With that in mind, it appears Cooper could use further development on his 3-point shooting. Now, three games is not a fair sample size, but he’s 1 of 16 from long range so far and that’s certainly an area NBA teams will look at closely in their scouting reports.

Another area he can improve on is finishing at the rim. His ball handling, driving, vision and passing are all 10 out of 10 in my eyes, but he’s struggled at times finishing. He was 3 of 13 against Kentucky and is shooting 37.0 percent from the floor. Again, three games is a small sample size and I wouldn’t be surprised to see his finishing improve by a significant amount as he gains experience and confidence playing at this level.

Look, if Cooper is a top 5 or top 10 pick, he needs to go. All the development he needs can take place on the NBA level just as much, or perhaps more, as it can in college. If not, or if he’s not assured, perhaps another season to create an experience, a legacy, at the college level and put another year of school under his belt would be beneficial.

***

In today’s musical journey we go back 41 years and the rise of one of the best songs from one of the best groups of the 1980s. On January 19, 1980, Brass in Pocket hit No. 1 for the first time in the UK, becoming the first top hit for the Pretenders. The song stayed at No. 1 for four weeks in the UK but only made it to No. 14 on the U.S. charts. The song was actually released in November of 1979 as the third single from their self-titled debut album.

The Pretenders were formed in March of 1978 by lead singer Chrissie Hynde, who was originally from Akron, Ohio, but moved to London to work for a music periodical. She named the band after the The Platters song, The Great Pretender, and their first single was a cover of the Kinks song, Stop Your Sobbing. Their debut album is ranked by Rolling Stone No. 155 of all time and by VH1 at No. 52. The Pretenders, which has undergone a number of personnel changes with Hynde the only constant, remains active today. They’ve had a number of other hits including 1982’s Back on the Chain Gang, 1983’s Middle of the Road and 1994’s I’ll Stand by You. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

Hynde got the idea for Brass in Pocket when she overheard someone from another band asking if anyone had, “Picked up dry cleaning? Any brass in pocket?” She describes having brass in pocket as being confident and sure of yourself when you step on stage even if you don't feel that way inside. The lyrics of the song describe a woman about to have her first sexual encounter and her confidence in it being a success. It uses Cockney slang so the line, ‘I got bottle,’ means I got a lot of ass or funk.