(Chicago Tribune)  After eighth grade, Jack Cooley searched for a new AAU home. Discussions began with the Rising Stars program in Deerfield, a club seeking big men but otherwise teeming with explosive young talent. So his father asked the natural question: Where is Jack going to fit in on this team?

The chat with Brian Davis, the club’s coach and director, became an impromptu board meeting. If Cooley wanted to score on a team of scorers, he would get his shot when others missed theirs. His opportunities would be second chances: Crash the offensive glass, and Cooley could collect points.

It was a startling directive. But Cooley has been on the rebound since, and no one is more dominant than Notre Dame’s senior center on the offensive boards, a craft honed via study, steel-trap hands, nimble footwork and sheer will.

“Just because you get hit doesn’t mean the possession is over and you can’t get the ball,” Cooley said as the No. 25 Irish prepared for Sunday’s game against Cincinnati. “It’s really the beginning of the fight.”

Not all top-shelf rebounders do truly great glasswork on each end — only four of the top 10 in rebounds per game also rank in the top 10 in offensive rebounds per game — but the 6-foot-9 former Glenbrook South star has mastered the invigorating and exasperating capacity for both.

As of Friday, Cooley led the nation in total offensive rebounds (119), ranked second in offensive rebounds per game (4.407) and was third in offensive rebound percentage (18.61), which measures how many of the available offensive boards a given player snags.

“There was a play in the second half (Monday at Pittsburgh) where the rebound bounced out, and it was bouncing toward our bench on the baseline, about 15 feet out,” Irish coach Mike Brey said. “And he was swimming through Pitt bodies to try to get there.

“You tell your big guys, ‘Don’t accept the block-out.’ A lot of guys accept block-outs. Most guys accept block-outs. Jack Cooley truly does not accept block-outs. And he’s relentless.”

It’s not all raw desire. Cooley figures that is only 60 percent of the equation.

But that 60 percent can be 100 percent painful and demoralizing.

“It’s terrible,” Irish forward Tom Knight said. “I’ve caught elbows to the face, head, shoulders. I’ve gotten scratches all up and down my arms. A lot of things happen when you try to block out Jack in practice.”

Less bestial instincts, though, separate Cooley. He has a mental dossier on each teammate’s shot, informing his positioning and timing. Eric Atkins shoots with great arc, so caroms tend to be higher. Cam Biedscheid has a flatter shot, usually causing long boards.

For Jerian Grant, Cooley has the best feel. Grant shoots quickly, but Cooley can decipher when it’s coming, and he attacks the rim early. Cooley retrieves so many of Grant’s errant attempts, it’s practically a plan.

“Jerian and I have a joke going around that every shot he misses is a pass to me,” Cooley said. “You can tell how a possession is going. A lot of it comes down to luck, and a lot of it comes down to reaction time and just knowing how your teammates play.”

Cooley doesn’t boast great liftoff capability. He compensates, Brey believes, with underrated hands that can snatch balls from tiny guards and limber footwork when Cooley is in the mood to be limber.

“He can really dance around people,” Brey said. “You add that with unbelievable strength and will, there’s a reason he gets angles all the time to get his hands on the ball.”

This somewhat esoteric skill has become a focal point on scouting reports. Last season, Georgetown double-teamed Cooley — on rebounds.

South Florida instructed its players to meet Cooley early in possessions, initiating contact to halt progress. Cooley had 14 boards, six offensive, in a Jan. 26 win. It’s a conundrum: Get physical, challenge a shot, then corral a rabid wildebeest.

“You have to make a conscious effort of keeping a body on him,” Providence coach Ed Cooley, no relation, said. “Even when he shoots the ball, you have to contest the shot and then keep your body on him. It’s hard. It’s really hard. But he’s relentless.”

It does come back to that, to hours of AAU workouts Cooley spent executing rebound-and-putback drills: one-step dunks, layups, a power dribble and two-hand finish.

His repertoire is decidedly more diverse now, but he’s no less infuriating. A year ago, as Cooley was concocting an 18-rebound day, one Rutgers player screamed at another for a box-out. The other replied he was trying.

Cooley saw yet another opportunity to wedge himself between the opposition.

“I was like, ‘Don’t be so hard on him,’ ” Cooley said. “Then they got mad at me. Then they got mad at each other. It was really hilarious.”

This depends on your perspective. Notre Dame revels in it, happy to have an offensive board game featuring the keenest glass eye going.

“It’s huge to know you’ve stolen another possession or stole a basket,” Cooley said. “A missed shot is supposed to be the possession is over. But then you get an offensive rebound and keep it going. It’s such a great feeling.”