Fourth and foremost

Sporting News, The, Dec 4, 2000 by Mike DeCourcy

Kruger said last season he wanted to bring Cook along slowly. Cook played zone defense almost exclusively in high school and had little practice defending the post. Until Griffin left the lineup with a knee injury in late January, Cook did not start and played more than 20 minutes only three times. In his first game in the starting lineup, against Penn State, Cook scored 20 and helped the team break a three-game losing streak.

Even as a starter, Cook reached 30 minutes only three times, and still he averaged 11.8 points. Illinois was 9-6 before he entered the lineup and 13-4 the rest of the way, with three of the losses coming against eventual NCAA champion Michigan State and runner-up Florida. Having another offensive option freed the Illini from an unhealthy dependence on Bradford's erratic play. Illinois was 8-7 when Bradford led the team in scoring, 7-1 when Cook led the way.

"I just had to be patient, and when I got my chance when Griff went out with his knee--I didn't want it to happen that way--I just tried to take my opportunity to do my best," Cook says. "I was inexperienced. I just needed to learn how to take the physical and mental part of the game. I think it took me about half a season to do that. After I did, it was fine."

Cook's presence in the Illinois lineup forces opponents to structure game plans to account for the many dangers he presents. He was a concern for coaches before. Now he can be an obsession.

The more attention Cook draws, the easier it is for his teammates to operate. He can make himself more of a worry if he continues to progress as a power player.

"He's got skills. He's got everything," says powerful Arizona forward Michael Wright. "He's not a real physical guy. He's like a real finesse player."

"I know I've got things to work on. I've got to get tougher and stronger," Cook says. "I think we've taken a big step in that. We were young last year. We can't use that as an excuse any more. We've all got experience. We've been to the tournament. We're hungry."

Senior writer Mike DeCourcy covers college basketball for THE SPORTING NEWS. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.