May 18 was like most days for 34-year-old Kimyata “Coop” Cooper Jr. After calling his dad to plan on watching the basketball game later that day, he finished up his work at Salvation Army and headed to the Barberton YMCA to play a game of basketball. While he was playing, though, Cooper collapsed on the court. He was rushed to Summa Barberton Hospital, where he died from sudden heart failure. “He died doing what he loved,” said Darlene Beecher, Cooper’s mother. “The coroner said there was 90 percent blockage in one of his arteries and 75 percent in the other. He was just a walking time bomb and no one knew it.” Hit with a sudden and tragic death, Cooper’s friends quickly decided they needed to organize something positive out of the loss. Together, they held a fundraiser and memorial service Wednesday at Summit Lake Community Center called “Hoops for Coop” to raise money for Cooper’s three children. “Coop had a larger-than-life personality,” said Jerome Moss, Cooper’s childhood friend who helped organize the event. “It hit a lot of us hard, but this gives us the opportunity to bring the community together for something positive.” The community center’s gym filled with Cooper’s friends and family as they gathered to play the game he loved in his honor. Cooper grew up in Akron playing basketball alongside LeBron James and his now-business partner Maverick Carter, Beecher said. As her son grew older, he diverted from the game and ins
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