Brian Cook (basketball)

Brian Cook

Cook with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2011
Personal information
Born	(1980-12-04) December 4, 1980 (age 43) Lincoln, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	234 lb (106 kg)
Career information
High school	Lincoln (Lincoln, Illinois)
College	Illinois (1999–2003)
NBA draft	2003: 1st round, 24th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career	2003–2015
Position	Power forward / center
Career history
2003–2007	Los Angeles Lakers
2007–2009	Orlando Magic
2009–2010	Houston Rockets
2010–2012	Los Angeles Clippers
2012	Washington Wizards
2013	Piratas de Quebradillas
2014	Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
2015	Atlético Aguada
2015	Chiba Jets
Career highlights and awards
BSN champion (2013) Second-team All-American – SN (2003) Third-team All-American – AP, NABC (2003) Big Ten Player of the Year (2003) Big Ten men's basketball tournament MOP (2003) Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2000) McDonald's All-American (1999) Illinois Mr. Basketball (1999) Second-team Parade All-American (1999)
Career NBA statistics
Points	2,312 (5.5 ppg)
Rebounds	1,115 (2.6 rpg)
Assists	252 (0.6 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Men's basketball Representing   United States FIBA U21 World Championship 2001 Saitama Team competition

Brian Joshua Cook (born December 4, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted out of the University of Illinois with the 24th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.

In 2004, Cook was named to the University of Illinois All-Century Team. ^[1]

High school career

Cook played high school basketball at Lincoln Community High School in central Illinois where he led the Railsplitters to the quarterfinals of the 1999 Illinois High School Association class AA state boys basketball tournament. Cook scored 38 points in 2 IHSA tournament finals games, averaging 19.0 points per game. ^[2] He was named to the 1998 State Farm Holiday Classic all-tournament team and was a 1999 McDonald's All-American. He was also named the 1999 Illinois Mr. Basketball after averaging 21.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 2.0 steals and 1.8 assists per game as a senior. ^[3] Cook was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016. ^[4]

College career

Cook played 132 games in four years for the University of Illinois, most of them under coach Bill Self, and led the Illini in rebounding in each season. Cook was a versatile scorer from both inside and outside the paint, utilizing his height to score in the post and hitting three-point shots when left open. This helped him to earn co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors during his freshman year at Illinois.

Cook helped lead the Illini to a number one seed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament, and the Illini cruised to the Elite 8, where they were upset in a hard-fought and controversial game by Cook's future teammate Luke Walton and the Arizona Wildcats.

As a senior in the 2002–03 season, Cook led the Fighting Illini in scoring with 20.0 points per game, and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball as the Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Conference. That same season, Cook was named second team All-American by The Sporting News, and third team All-American by the Associated Press, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and The Basketball Times, as well as Big Ten Player of the Year and first team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media. Additionally, he would lead the Illini to the Big Ten men's basketball tournament championship and be named Most Outstanding Player. Cook left Illinois as the school's third all-time leading scorer with 1,748 total points, at an average of 13.2 points per game, behind Deon Thomas and Kiwane Garris. ^{[3] [5]}

Professional career

Cook with the Los Angeles Lakers

Cook was selected with the 24th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. He played sparingly in his rookie campaign as a backup to superstar center Shaquille O'Neal, and was mostly an interior player, notching only five three-point attempts out of 141 total field goal attempts. As his professional career evolved, however, Cook once again became a player who could play beyond the perimeter, after O'Neal moved on to the Miami Heat and Rudy Tomjanovich took over for Phil Jackson as Lakers' head coach. He was mainly used as a three-point specialist; 199 of 422 (or 47.2%) of Cook's field goal attempts were from behind the three-point arc. When Phil Jackson returned to coach the Lakers in 2005–06, Cook started to take less three-pointers again, which resulted in Cook improving his overall field-goal percentage from .417 in 2004–05 to .520 in 2005–06. It also resulted in an improvement in his three-point field-goal percentage, from .392 in 2004–05 to .441 in 2005–06. His improved play kept Cook on the court more as his minutes played per game rose from 15.1 in 2004–05 to 19.4 in 2005–06.

On November 20, 2007, Cook was traded, along with Maurice Evans, to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Trevor Ariza. ^[6]

On February 19, 2009, Cook was traded to the Houston Rockets in a three-team trade also involving the Magic and the Memphis Grizzlies. ^[7] On February 20, 2010, he was waived by the Rockets. ^[8]

On July 9, 2010, Cook signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. ^[9]

On March 15, 2012, Cook was traded, along with a 2015 second-round pick, to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Nick Young. ^[10]

Cook's final NBA game ever was during his time with the Wizards, as he played his final game on April 26, 2012, in a 104–70 win over the Miami Heat. He recorded 4 points and 1 rebound in his final game. On September 17, 2012, he re-signed with the Wizards. However, he was later waived by the Wizards on October 28, 2012. ^[11]

In March 2013, Cook signed with Piratas de Quebradillas for the 2013 BSN season. ^{[12] [13]}

On September 30, 2013, Cook signed with the Utah Jazz. ^[14] However, he was later waived by the Jazz on October 26, 2013. ^[15]

On September 25, 2014, Cook signed with the Detroit Pistons. ^[16] However, he was later waived by the Pistons on October 20, 2014. ^[17] On December 28, 2014, he signed with Al-Riyadi of the Lebanese Basketball League. ^[18] He left Al-Riyadi in mid-January after appearing in just three games. On February 10, 2015, he signed with Aguada of the Liga Uruguaya de Basketball, in Montevideo, Uruguay. ^[19] He also managed just three games for Aguada.

On June 15, 2015, Cook signed with Chiba Jets of the Japanese National Basketball League. ^[20]

Personal life

Cook is the son of Norman and Joyce Cook, and has two younger sisters, Kristina and Natasha. His father was an All-American with the University of Kansas and played briefly for the Boston Celtics. His uncle, Joe Cook, played basketball for Duke University from 1988 to 1990. ^[3]

On July 4, 2009, Cook married long-time girlfriend, Victoria Velasquez. ^[21]

Cook has played in the BIG3 basketball league as a member of the Killer 3's team.

Honors

High school

• 1998 – State Farm Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team
• 1999 – McDonald's All-American
• 2016 – Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame as a player. ^[22]

College

• 2000 – Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year
• 2000 – Big Ten tournament All-Tournament Team
• 2001 – 2nd Team All-Big Ten
• 2002 – 2nd Team All-Big Ten
• 2003 – Team Co-Captain
• 2003 – Team MVP ^[23]
• 2003 – Preseason Wooden Award Nominee
• 2003 – 1st Team All-Big Ten
• 2003 – Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
• 2003 – Chicago Tribune 's Silver Basketball award
• 2003 – Big Ten tournament All-Tournament Team
• 2003 – Big Ten tournament Most Outstanding Player
• 2003 – 3rd Team All American
• 2004 – Elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team".
• 2008 – Honored as one of the thirty-three honored jerseys which hang in the State Farm Center to show regard for being the most decorated basketball players in the University of Illinois' history.

College statistics

Season	Games	Points	PPG	Field Goals	Attempts	Avg	Free Throws	Attempts	Avg	Rebounds	Avg	Assists	APG	Blocks	BPG
1999–2000	32	287	9.6	112	213	.526	51	83	.614	143	4.5	24	0.8	28	0.9
2000–01	35	391	11.2	147	269	.546	69	86	.802	212	6.1	43	1.2	45	1.3
2001–02	35	471	13.5	174	342	.509	96	110	.873*	233	6.7	44	1.3	50	1.4
2002–03	30	599	20.0	202	422	.479	168	205	.820	227	7.6	60	2.0	13	0.4
Totals	132	1748	13.2	635	1246	.510	384	484	.793	815	6.2	171	1.3	136	1.0

* All-time leader in University of Illinois history ^{[24] [25]}

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2003–04	L.A. Lakers	35	2	12.6	.475	.000	.750	2.9	.6	.5	.5	4.4
2004–05	L.A. Lakers	72	0	15.1	.417	.392	.757	3.0	.5	.3	.4	6.4
2005–06	L.A. Lakers	81	46	19.0	.511	.429	.832	3.4	.9	.5	.4	7.9
2006–07	L.A. Lakers	65	24	15.7	.453	.400	.723	3.3	1.0	.4	.4	6.9
2007–08	L.A. Lakers	6	2	11.7	.190	.200	1.000	1.7	.5	.3	.0	2.3
2007–08	Orlando	45	0	12.4	.394	.390	.882	2.2	.5	.2	.3	5.0
2008–09	Orlando	21	0	7.0	.383	.440	.833	1.3	.2	.1	.0	3.0
2008–09	Houston	9	0	2.8	.313	.400	.000	.6	.1	.0	.3	1.3
2009–10	Houston	15	0	2.9	.304	.222	.714	.6	.1	.0	.1	1.4
2010–11	L.A. Clippers	40	0	11.2	.424	.430	.625	2.4	.4	.3	.3	4.8
2011–12	L.A. Clippers	16	0	7.6	.224	.185	1.000	1.4	.1	.1	.3	1.9
2011–12	Washington	16	0	9.7	.408	.217	.833	2.5	.5	.3	.1	3.1
Career		421	74	13.4	.439	.382	.783	2.6	.6	.3	.3	5.5

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2004	L.A. Lakers	13	0	3.5	.333	.000	1.000	.9	.1	.1	.0	.9
2006	L.A. Lakers	7	0	11.1	.391	.364	1.000	3.1	1.1	.1	.0	6.3
2007	L.A. Lakers	5	0	10.2	.333	.429	1.000	1.2	.0	.0	.2	3.6
2009	Houston	6	0	5.3	.267	.222	.000	2.0	.5	.3	.2	1.7
Career		31	0	6.7	.351	.333	1.000	1.7	.4	.1	.1	2.7

References

1. Cook named to the All-Century Team
2. IHSA.org/Archive
3. Brian Cook Bio Archived October 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
4. BasketballMuseumofIllinois.com
5. Brian Cook Stats Archived October 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
6. Magic Acquire Brian Cook and Maurice Evans From L.A. Lakers
7. "Magic get Rafer Alston in 3-team trade involving Grizzlies, Rockets, Kyle Lowry, others". InsideHoops.com. February 19, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
8. "Rockets waive Brian Cook, keep Garrett Temple 10 more days". Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
9. "CLIPPERS SIGN FREE AGENT FORWARD BRIAN COOK". NBA.com. July 9, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
10. "WIZARDS ACQUIRE NENE FROM DENVER". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
11. "Wizards Waive Cook and Mack". NBA.com. October 28, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
12. Piratas de Quebradillas set to sign Brian Cook
13. Piratas firman a Brian Cook (in Spanish)
14. Utah Jazz Signs Three Free Agents
15. "Utah Jazz waive Brian Cook, Dominic McGuire, Justin Holiday, Lester Hudson and Scott Machado". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
16. Detroit Pistons Sign Four to Training Camp Roster
17. "Pistons release Thabeet, three others". NBA.com . Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
18. Former NBA forward Brian Cook signs with Riyadi
19. Conocé al nuevo extranjero de Aguada
20. Brian Cook signs in Japan with Chiba Jets
21. Basketball Star Brian Cook Weds
22. IBCA Hall of Fame
23. "FightingIllini.com" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
24. FightingIllini.com
25. "Brian Cook College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com  and  Basketball-Reference.com
• Illinois bio at the Wayback Machine (archived 2014-10-06)