The 2020-21 basketball season is roughly a month away, and John Cooper, the newest member of the SMU coaching staff, is learning names, studying schemes and preparing for what's anticipated to be a breakout season for the Mustangs.

The quick transition shouldn't be an issue for Cooper, who has spent the last three seasons at Oklahoma State and was the head coach at Miami (Ohio) from 2012-17. A former pro player in the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and overseas in the Netherlands, Cooper has north of 25 years of coaching experience.

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Cooper took time out to speak with The HillTopics to discuss the expectations for the upcoming season, the adjustments of being on the HillTop and much more. He is the latest subject of our "Coach Q&A" series. Here is Cooper's bio.

Before we start, we've got to ask: You played college ball at Wichita State. Will conference games be weird situations for you?

I'll tell you this: When I was at Oklahoma State, we scrimmaged them at their place. You know, I've never been to Wichita State for a basketball game since I've left. That's all because I played in the CBA, then played overseas, then got into coaching. It was just my schedule, no other reason. Last year, I went to a volleyball game at Wichita State. I drove my daughter to watch them play Texas. That was the first time I'd been in the arena for a real game of any sort.

Obviously, it was a place where I had a really good experience near and dear. But I'm like the next man. I'm competitive. I want to go there, and I want to win. There are still a lot of people around who I had relationships with, so it's still a place where I have a lot of friendships and family.

You spent the last three seasons at Oklahoma State. What did you learn most that you're taking with you to SMU?

It's really the first time since I had left school and gone into coaching that I'd been in this specific region. With anything in coaching, you start to develop relationships, and I think those relationships will certainly carry over. We had a lot of Texas kids; the state of Texas was good to us during my time at Oklahoma State. Those are things you're hoping you continue to build on.

I've been doing this a lot of years and been in the state recruiting kids here, but you never get enough of developing relationships and meeting new people and navigating the roads of recruiting. Each institution has a unique relationship with their areas.

Everybody knows how important it is to keep the in-state players close to home. What are your thoughts about that, and what have you been hearing about that from some of your colleagues in the state?

Most times, when you're at an institution, you work your way inside out. You've got to find a fit. At the end of the day, there has to be interest on both sides. Certainly for us, we've got to extend that interest. We'll be working the city and working the state. That's extremely important.

I think back to some of the years I've coached, and it's interesting when you do have kids from the area and the state. At times, it seems it generates a different kind of buzz. There are people through the years who have followed those kids and watched them play. They'll say, "He'll be at SMU," and that's always good for the university. But most importantly, it's got to be a fit that goes both ways.

I think recruiting has really become so different in the past four, five years to where we now also know the portal. There are so many more kids now who are transferring. You know kids this year are going to have a free year. You may not get kids, but you want to make sure you have good relationships with those kids. With so many from this area and this region, some stay and some go. But if they go and their experience doesn't go well, you always want to be able to make that phone call and tap back into that relationship.

With all that's going on with recruiting and the players having all the rights they have, I think it's a different time in recruiting. In some ways, everyone is still in discovery mode, because being able to transfer is going to be able to change the game. I don't know if anyone knows exactly how that's going to affect our recruiting -- or anyone's recruiting.

You've got head coaching experience. What's your relationship like with Tim Jankovich? Could it be like having two head coaches out there?

Me and Jank, you go through the years in coaching and you see each other on the road. Some people you know have relationships with Jank. You find that out even more so during this process. I think what I've learned is you want to have harmony within your staff. It makes life easier.

When you're coming in at this point of the year -- really, it's kind of late for me -- it's about getting your feet wet and understanding how they do things. Yaphett [King], Jay [Duncan] and those guys have been great in giving me an understanding of what we're doing. Then, it's finding that area and being in the groove where everyone can be clicking on all cylinders.

I know, from a head coach's perspective, you're taking a lot of stuff out Jank's way and allowing him to really concentrate and be locked in on the team. He's pretty easygoing and has a great way about him in the office, but I know there's nothing like being able to zero in on your team and not worry about things because you have great trust in your staff, and you know everything will be handled.

You've got pro player experience. You went from playing in the CBA to playing in the Netherlands. What was that like from a culture shock perspective?

You go back to 1992 or '93. It was probably one of the easiest transitions when you look at going overseas as an American player. You've got to remember, this was before iPads and all of that. You don't see your people. When you land, your TV is your best connection. Phone rates were outrageous to be calling back and forth. People would sit and write letters; if you got a piece of mail, that was a big deal.

One of the things that made it easier for me was the team I went to -- the team in Den Helder [Netherlands] -- there were quite a few Dutch guys who had played ball in the States. Then, most Dutch people at the time spoke English. The transition was much easier than me going to France or Italy or something like that, because the language barrier wasn't as tough. That made it an easier transition. The guy who I played for, a legend over there, is named Ton Boot. All of those things made it a little bit easier.

Now, that said, you're still a long way from home, brother. My parents actually came over and visited for the playoffs. They were there for two or three weeks, so that was good. It was one of those experiences where you realize how fortunate you were. I still have the relationships with the guy who was my agent and some of the guys I dealt with over there. I've been able to recruit kids over there because of those relationships. I've been very fortunate.