Mar19 Written by:CriticalSteve
3/19/2008 11:41 PM
Did Daequan Cook have a Better Season last Year?
So the NBA is about potential and not necessarily college performance.
Daequan Cook came to Columbus out of Dayton Dunbar as one of the highest rated players in many years and brought with him his two AAU teammates Mike Conley Jr and Greg Oden. This class made possible by the new NBA eligibility rules of having to be in college one year, was a blessing to Ohio State coach Thad Matta as it assisted his staff in putting together two more excellent recruiting classes to follow.
Cook’s freshman season started out fine but he struggled half the way through and found himself on the bench as Ron Lewis and David Lighty picked up more minutes for the Buckeyes. While Cook had his difficulties, Ohio State continued to role over opponents with Conley and Oden dominating teams all season long. The Buckeyes found themselves in the NCAA Championship after continued strong performances from Jamar Butler, Ron Lewis, Greg Oden, and Mike Conley. They didn’t win the championship game but they got enough attention to land Oden, Conley, and surprisingly Cook in the first round of the NBA draft.
So the NBA is about potential and not necessarily college performance. Cook would have been drafted out of high school if it was allowed and teams had no problem picking him up after a so-so year at Ohio State. Fast forward to March of 2008 and the Miami Heat, the team that signed Cook, are horrible and Cook has been bounced down to the development league and brought back to the Heat cause the Heat need bodies to not forfeit games. That’s right, Miami brought back Cook and Joel Anthony from the Development League because on Friday night they almost had to forfeit a game unable to meet the NBA’s required eight man roster.
On Friday night, Dwyane Wade and Earl Barron were both out with sore knees. Daequan Cook and Joel Anthony were still in the NBA Development League. Alonzo Mourning and Dorell Wright have had season-ending knee surgeries. Alexander Johnson was serving a suspension for a flagrant foul. And Smush Parker is on disciplinary leave. What a mess! Miami is 11-50 and 5th in the Southeast. Cook is averaging 7.1 points a game, 2.4 rebounds a game, and 1.1 assists a game. Rookies do struggle but some rookies do not, see Mike Conley Jr. Did Daequan Cook have a better season last year? He did by far. Can he still make it in the NBA? All of Buckeye nation hopes he’ll pull it together and have a long career instead of languishing on a bad team and being bounced between the Development League and the NBA as his first season has come to be.
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