Houston offers Cooley

The recruitment of Plant guard Sheldon Cooley has picked up significantly. In recent days, Houston has offered a scholarship and Marquette, one of the country's elite programs, has expressed serious interest, Plant coach Mike Phillips said. Houston is the third school to offer the 6-foot-2 guard, a rising senior. East Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech are the others. Marquette called Phillips last Thursday, telling him "they really liked what they saw."

Cooley, the Times' Hillsborough Player of the Year, averaged 22.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and five steals per game as a junior. This spring, he has been a major contributor as a shooting guard for Florida Elite, which won the state AAU 17-and-under title last weekend in Clearwater. He's averaging about 15 points a game.

Marquette is the most well-known program to enter the mix. The Golden Eagles, who play in the Big East, have become a perennial top-25 team. Houston, a member of Conference USA, has not been to a Final Four since the early 1980s, but the Cougars appear to be on the rise. They went 24-10 last season.

--KEITH NIEBUHR