Cooper should become the first college player to set benchmark accomplishments in four major categories. (US Presswire)

Somewhat quietly, Ohio's D.J. Cooper has been putting together one of the most incredible college basketball careers -- ever.

Most notably, the senior point guard led the Bobcats to the Sweet 16 last year, two years removed from Ohio upsetting and demolishing Georgetown in a 3-vs.-14 NCAA tournament game when Cooper was a freshman (and started). This season, the Cousy Award finalist is pulling in 8.2 assists per game and has the No. 1 assist rate in the country, finding a teammate for a bucket on 51 percent of his plays, the highest help percentage for a player in seven seasons.

But it's the compilation of a career and the nearing of setting a new benchmark for all-around play that has me thinking about this team and this player, who doesn't talk much but rather is a typical example of leading by example.

"He's not a rah-rah guy," Ohio coach Jim Christian said. "Doesn't like talking in front of the team. Just goes out and does his job. But he is the first guy over to somebody when a good play happens and the first guy to talk to someone when they're not playing well. That's a sign of a good point guard."

So what's this record? With at least 12 games left in his college career (barring injury), Cooper is on pace to become the only player in the history of Division I college basketball to collect 2,000 points, 900 assists, 500 rebounds and 300 steals. On the surface, it seems to be a record that should've been reached at some point in the past 100 years. But no. Stop and think about those numbers, then realize Cooper is listed -- listed -- at 6 feet tall.

It's stupendous.

Cooper is going to crack 2,000 points some time shortly after Valentine's Day; he's sitting at 1,886 as of this post and averages 14.6 points. He needs 45 more assists (approximately six games) to get to 900 and 14 more thefts (seven games; Cooper swipes 2.1 steals per) to reach the top-25 list in all-time steals. Syracuse's Sherman Douglas and Oregon State's Gary Payton are the only players who have ever posted both 2,000 points and 900 dimes. Payton also has more than 300 steals. 

It's the rebounding that separates Cooper. And he already has 581 of those.

"These guys don't come around very often," Christian said.

He's wrong -- they don't come around period, as the record-setting benchmark proves. You know, this wasn't all guaranteed. Ohio went to two NCAA tournaments in the past three seasons under John Groce, but then Groce took the Illinois job. In talking with MAC coaches in the preseason, there was some doubt what the Bobcats would become in Cooper's final year and Christian's first. Would the team jell? Plenty reminded me that Ohio wasn't even the best team in the league in 2011-12.

And it still might not be this season. The 15-5 Bobcats play Wednesday night at home against Eastern Michigan, then comes the big one on the road Saturday against Akron, which is tied atop the MAC East with the Bobcats at 6-0. Ohio has not lost in 2013, winners of seven straight. Since the winning streak began, Christian said the team's mentality -- it has lost four times on the road -- didn't have confidence or toughness in terms of how hard they played. They didn't handle runs well in road environments.

Then came a natural click as the nonconference season ended. Through all of this, Cooper's play has remained consistent. Check his game log from this season. The games that he doesn't score in double digits are the ones where his assist total rises above his average. Christian and Cooper both credit the continuation of creative and commanding play thanks to very few alterations from Groce's system to Christian's. Both are Herb Sendek disciples. He and Christian work out together, one-on-one, nearly every day on the court. 

"I want to have the right kind of relationship; it's a great opportunity for us to share," the coach said.

But how can a 6-footer be so well-rounded from start to finish in his college career? This is a multidimensional accomplishment.

"I think they'd rather me score more than pass," Cooper said. "I'm in the best when I'm in the lane and getting my team in a rhythm."

It's ultimately Cooper's mindset, playing completely unafraid of anybody -- which is easy to write but really something else to see, or have the ability to do on the floor against 250-pounders -- that has enabled him to have this kind of incredible career.

"On the court, he has two aspects that are really difficult to control," Christian said. "He has unbelievable vision, but he understands how to get the ball and what speed to deliver the ball on every occasion. Plenty of people can see the plays, but few can execute it like he can."

Cooper has had two 14-assist games and one with 17 this year, the latter coming against Marshall, the game in which the Bobcats' most recent multiweek winning streak began. Christian said Cooper could've broken the NCAA single-game assist record of 22 in the Marshall game but was pulled early.

Ohio was one of the really great stories of the 2012 NCAA tournament. There's no guarantee the team gets back. As usual, it's boom or bust. This group must win the MAC tournament. Until then, Cooper's just businesslike. But he did admit he has stopped and thought about what he has done and what this team and season mean to him as everything breezes by in his final year.

"I'm cherishing every moment" Cooper said.

He didn't say much more, though. It's his style. If you want to see him talk, watch him play. The impending record says it all.

For more college basketball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnCBB on Twitter, like us on Facebook and subscribe to the thrice-a-week podcast on iTunes. You can follow Matt Norlander on Twitter here: @MattNorlander.