Iowa Basketball: 3 takeaways from Hawkeyes win over Northern Iowa
By Zach De Jong
Tyler Cook is the Hawkeye’s alpha-dog
After the 2017-18 season Tyler Cook visited with NBA teams in the pre-draft process, before deciding to return to the Hawkeyes for his junior year. Whatever NBA teams told Cook has him motivated to take his game to a whole new level.
Cook is averaging 16.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists early in his junior year. Cook has raised these three stats significantly compared to his first two seasons.
On the offense side of the ball, Cook has used his 253 lb body to push opponents around in the post. He is shooting 61.2 percent in the paint and averaging close to ten attempts a game. Even though Cook has some weight to throw around, don’t let that deceive you. He is a great athlete, who almost every game can be seen soaring through the air for dunks or alley-oop attempts.
Cook is not just a shooter however, he also has become an adequate playmaker and rebounder. Cook is now seeing the floor better than he ever has. He has great vision when working in the post. He is excellent at making cross-court skip passes or finding the relocating shooter. He is also doing a better job boxing out and using his athleticism to go and get rebounds.
The only area of Cook’s game that could use some fine-tuning is his three-point shooting. On the Hawkeye’s roster, he really isn’t asked to step out and stretch the defense. But in today’s game, a post player is often required to be able to shoot the three. Traditional post players are becoming obsolete in the NBA. This might not be a required skill in college, but it could hinder his draft stock moving forward.
In just his past game against Northern Iowa, Cook had one of his better all-around games. He had 17 points on an effencint 6/7 shooting, while adding 13 rebounds and five assists to his stat sheet.
Cook has shown great growth this season, especially on the offense end, which is why he is the alpha-dog on this team.