Whoever it was who said there are two sides to every story must have been an ancestor of Illinois senior forward Brian Cook. Either that or an Illini coach named Bill Self, who knows him well.
How out of it was Cook in the first half? How about four points, one rebound and two personal fouls in nine minutes as the Illini fell behind by five points at the break?
How bad was Illinois without its acknowledged leader? Early in the second half while watching Michigan extend its advantage to 11 points, the Illini seemed well on their way to eclipsing the worst shooting percentage in school history–23 percent against Ohio State in 1972.
Self was so upset he jumped off the bench at one point and shouted into space, “Cook’s killing us!”
Then, suddenly, everything turned around. Suddenly, Cook started playing like the leading candidate for Big Ten player of the year that he is. Suddenly, Cook was unstoppable, underneath the basket, in front of the basket and far way from the basket. Suddenly, Cook scored 18 of Illinois’ first 22 points of the second half.
And suddenly, thanks to Cook’s 30 points, the No. 13 Illini (15-3, 5-2) had grabbed a thrilling 67-60 victory that snapped Michigan’s winning streak at 13 and moved them within a game of the first-place Wolverines (13-7, 6-1) in the Big Ten race.
“What a win! What a win!” Self shouted.
And what a marvelous comeback by Cook, who took Self’s anger to heart.
“If you want to get Brian mad just have Self talk to him,” Self said. “Sometimes I can be a little bit sarcastic, unfortunately, but he’s a guy who needs to be challenged.”
Self said Cook couldn’t attend the postgame news conference because he was suffering from dehydration. Freshman James Augustine spoke for him.
“Has Coach Self ever been madder at Brian?” laughed Augustine, who added 11 points and 10 rebounds. “Yeah. When [Self] gets mad he gets mad. At some point this year I think he has said that about every player on this team. Cook showed him, I guess.”
And Illinois showed Michigan–and the rest of the Big Ten–that it might be in the league race to stay.
After shooting a season-low 25 percent against Michigan’s zone in the first half, the Illini shot 52.4 percent in the second. After letting Wolverines senior forward LaVell Blanchard burn them for 13 points and five rebounds in the first half, the Illini limited him to five points and one rebound in the second. And after falling behind 39-28, Illinois fought back to a 53-53 tie with 5 minutes 53 seconds left before handing things over to Cook, who scored eight of his team’s last 11 points.
Freshman Deron Williams, who had nine points, seven rebounds and six assists, said he believes the game gives the Illini another big dose of confidence; confidence they’ll need Sunday at Michigan State. For that they could thank Cook.
“Michigan scored only 27 points in the second half and Brian had 26,” Williams said. “One of the best players in the nation proved it tonight. There’s not much anyone can do to stop him when he’s on.”
