PORTLAND- University of Portland junior guard Darren Cooper will receive the Salvation Army’s 2005 Outstanding Youth Award on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. at the Salvation Army’s Neighborhood Pride Banquet in NE Portland.

Cooper has overcome numerous family tragedies in the past few years. He lost his father and uncle to cancer within a couple of years of each other, and his grandmother passed away shortly thereafter. Cooper, who played his freshman year at Eastern Washington University, soon learned that his mother, Carrie Green, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. He returned home to Portland to take care of his mom and began working the night shift 30 hours a week, while enrolling at Portland Community College (PCC), where he took a full load of classes. After earning an associate’s degree at PCC, Cooper enrolled at University of Portland and earned a scholarship. Cooper cared for his mother throughout her illness and chemotherapy treatments. Green has since been declared cancer-free.

A starter for the Pilots, Cooper finished the season second on the team in scoring (11.4 ppg), assists (68) and free-throw percentage (.854). Selected as a finalist for the V Foundation’s Comeback Award, Cooper also ranked among the WCC stat leaders in several categories.

For more information about the award or to attend the banquet, please contact Captain Robert Marshall via phone 503.312.1018 or e-mail: robert_marshall@usw.salvationarmy.org.