As far as Illinois coach Bill Self is concerned, the how-good-is-Brian-Cook-really? debate is over. Cook wins–convincingly.
It still frosts Cook that there was ever a debate.
“I don’t think I’ve got to prove anything to anybody,” Cook said. “I’m going to be me. I know I’m good. I totally hate it when people criticize me who have never played the game, who have never been through it.”
Cook said that? The supposedly too nice, too deferential, too soft, too foul-plagued, emotionally troubled Brian Cook said that?
Yep.
“Brian has been through a lot,” Self said of his 6-foot-10-inch senior power forward, a candidate for Big Ten player of the year and All-America.
“His family has been through a lot. It’s no secret some people expected him to fail–and he was certainly well aware of that–but he has shown that that is not going to happen. Before, he would blend in. Now all eyes are on him.”
Even his critics, who pounced on him early in his career for not showing up in big games (see: four points, two rebounds in 2001 Elite Eight loss to Arizona) would agree that Cook is delivering in his final go-around.
Heading into Saturday’s game against Northwestern at the United Center, Cook is averaging career highs of 19.8 points and 7.0 rebounds a game for the Illini (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten), is a long shot for national-player-of-the-year honors and is sixth on the school’s all-time list with 1,545 career points.
You want toughness? You want passion? You want greatness in the clutch? Cook’s performance Jan. 29 against Michigan, when he scored 26 of his 30 points in the second half to carry the Illini to a 67-60 victory, will go down as one of the most awe-inspiring efforts in school history.
After the game, Cook was dehydrated and could barely speak. “He left it all on the floor,” Self said that night. “That’s what happens when you play 20 [second-half] minutes and you play every possession like it’s your last.”
For those who think his burner was set unusually high in that game, Cook felt a similar level of exhaustion after his Lincoln High School team lost to Warren in the quarterfinals of the state Class AA tournament his senior year.
“I had 19 points, eight rebounds and six blocks and we lost,” said Cook, “and when the game was over, I passed out right in front of the cameras. Was I surprised by what I did against Michigan? I’m not surprised by anything I do. I knew it was a big game that we needed to get and I just let my instincts take over.
“I was real emotional after the game. It was great.”
Self believes the Michigan game is only a microcosm of the greatness and riches that are within Cook’s grasp.
“I think everyone [in the NBA] is impressed by what he’s doing,” Self said. “But they also want to see him finish the season right. For reasons that may or may not be justified, Brian has a reputation that he has floated sometimes in games. But anybody who has watched us practice even one day knows that Brian is tough–and not soft.”Cook’s most noticeable improvements have come under the basket. Though still plagued by a tendency to get into early foul trouble, Cook benefited from off-season weight training and an improved diet that dropped his weight to 228 from 240, giving him a more chiseled upper body.
“My first impression of Brian when I got here was that he was a terrific talent who would be more of a face-up player than a back-to-the-basket guy,” Self said. “Now he’s probably a better low-post scorer than he is from behind the arc, and I think that’s good for him.”
What has really been good for him, said Cook, is Self.
“Coach Self is one of the best things that has ever happened to me,” Cook said. “Coach [Lon] Kruger was great and coach Jud [former Illini assistant and current Northern Illinois coach Rob Judson] was like a second father to me, but coach Self totally changed my mentality. I feel now like nobody can stop me. He put a different twist on things that helped my confidence.”
Illini senior backup guard Jerrance Howard, Cook’s best friend and apartment mate, has noticed the difference.
“Brian has grown from a boy to a man on and off the court,” Howard said. “Sean [Harrington], Brian and me are the captains, but as far as looking up to someone–or someone to go to on the court–Cook is the one. I think people are finally realizing how good Brian Cook is. The things he has to go through–the demands, the responsibilities–I don’t think I could do it. I applaud him. He never gets too high or too low. He’s the most humble person I know.”
Cook’s emotional and physical growth have progressed in tandem. Self sees it as a natural maturation, but in Cook’s case it has been more than that.
Brian is the son of Norm Cook, the former Kansas All-American and first-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics in 1976. Brian’s greatest triumph may be overcoming a traumatic childhood during which his father, who was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, often physically abused his mother. Joyce Cook, who divorced Norm 16 years ago, remains her son’s No. 1 supporter and fan.
Cook sought help from sports psychologists last season. On rare occasions, he still does.
“Talking to them helped me get the mind-set I have now,” he said. “But more and more I’m doing it myself.”
Cook has learned to incorporate positive thinking–and emotional timeouts–into his life.
“Over the summer I worked on my inside game and shooting,” Cook said. “But I also took time off to get my mind right. For three weeks I totally forgot about basketball. I just hung out with my friends and played golf because I knew I’d have to buckle down after those three weeks.”
Cook’s buckle-down theory is working. Self believes his star has blossomed into the type of player who can make it in the NBA.
“Brian thinks the game so well,” Self said. “When the game is in slow motion he is so effective because he can think one or two passes ahead. Offensively he is the smartest player I have ever coached. I think as an offensive rebounder he can improve because he gets called for a lot of fouls, but as a defensive rebounder he’s excellent. I don’t think there’s any question his best ball is ahead of him.”
Self said Cook is the perfect example of a player who helped his stock by staying in school.
“I’m not saying he wouldn’t have been drafted last year,” Self said. “But I think in his heart he knew he needed to do it without Cory [Bradford] and Frank [Williams] and Arch [Robert Archibald] around.”
Howard said Cook never talks about the NBA, but deep down he knows his roomie is ready, even eager to make the jump. He said when Williams was in town for the Ohio State game, which fell during the NBA All-Star break, “Frank and I teased Brian about having to guard Tim Duncan next year. He just laughed and said he’d be able to hold his own.”
Pressure? The primary emotion Cook is feeling this year is peace.
“I think I kind of knew in my heart, ever since high school, that I’d get to the NBA someday,” Cook said. “I know now that if you truly believe in your heart that you’re going to be something–and you don’t take shortcuts–that you can. I think I’ve been real patient. In high school I wasn’t on the varsity freshman or sophomore year. But I didn’t give up. I’ve been patient, worked hard and things have come together.
“I haven’t felt any pressure this year. I just go out and play and try to keep a positive attitude. I might not have a great shooting night or things might not go my way, but that’s life. It’s all in how you deal with things.”
COOK’S CAREER STATISTICS
SEASON GP-GS MIN FGM-A FG% 3PM-A 3PT% FTM-A FT% PTS
2002-03 20-20 29.7 136-263 .517 17-57 .298 107-131 .817 19.8
2001-02 35-34 28.8 174-342 .509 27-74 .365 96-110 .873 13.5
2000-01 35-35 24.2 147-269 .546 28-76 368 69-86 .802 11.2
1999-00 32-17 18.6 112-213 .526 12-38 316 51-83 .614 9.0
TOTAL 122-106 24.9 569-1087 .523 84-245 .343 323-410 .788 12.7
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