Samford University Athletics

Athletic guard/forward who has worked hard to improve his ball-handling . . . excels at slashing to the basket and finishing in traffic . . . competitive personality with real leadership potential . . . has the ability to find the open teammate and make the correct pass.
 
Sophomore (2011-12): Started at guard in all 30 games for the Bulldogs and played a key role in the team’s offensive attack . . . averaged eight points and 5.3 rebounds per contest, while logging 28.7 minutes of action per outing . . . finished second on the team in rebounds (158) and minutes played (862) . . . turned in the first double-double of his young collegiate career against Chattanooga on Feb. 5, as he finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds on the road . . . versus the Mocs, he also knocked down a trio of deep 3-point field goals . . . accumulated 11 double-digit scoring outings throughout the course of the season . . . led the Bulldogs in rebounding 10 times . . . registered his third straight career-high performance on Dec. 7 against Mercer as he nearly compiled a double-double with 17 points and eight rebounds . . . led the Bulldogs in scoring and also handed out four assists and finished 6-of-6 from the free-throw line versus the Bears . . . paced Samford in assists twice over the course of the season, including his four-assist performance versus Mercer . . . poured in 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting against Spring Hill on Dec. 17, and also added two rebounds and a steal . . . scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field against Elon on Jan. 19, and knocked down a clutch 3-point basket to secure the key SoCon North Division victory . . . turned in one of his best all-around games of the season at The Citadel (Jan. 7) as he finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and recorded a 5-of-6 performance from the field . . . earned his second varsity letter.
 
Freshman (2010-11): Earned playing time in 24 of the team’s 31 games and logged an average of 8.2 minutes per outing . . . scored 2.3 points per contest and grabbed and averaged of 1.3 rebounds per game . . . finished the season with a 39.2 shooting percentage from the field and a 25-percent mark from 3-point range . . . made his first career start on Feb. 16 against Wofford and scored a career-high nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field . . . logged a career-high 24 minutes of game action and added an assist versus the Terriers . . . tallied one of the best games of his young freshman season Nov. 20 against Middle Tennessee as he finished with five points, three boards and an assist in 11 minutes of play . . . scored six points on a career-high 2-of-3 shooting performance from 3-point range versus Chattanooga (Feb. 26) . . . finished the game shooting 2-for-4 from the field in 13 minutes . . . tallied five points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field against Appalachian State on Dec. 4, as he scored his five points in only six minutes of playing time . . . earned the first game action of his collegiate career Nov. 15 against Tennessee Wesleyan as he tallied three points, a rebound and an assist in six minutes of court action . . . earned his first varsity letter.
 
High School: Played AAU basketball for the highly-competitive Dallas Mustangs, which is the same program as current Samford player Matthew Friday . . . at Hillcrest High School, he competed in District 12 4A, which is one of the toughest districts in the nation . . . as a senior, he averaged 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.3 blocks per game, and was named the prestigious Newcomer of the Year in District 12-4A . . . on his AAU team, he led the Mustangs to the championship title of the 2009 Great American Shootout and he scored 11 points in the championship game . . . he was also recruited by Tulane, Texas State, Denver and Western Illinois.
 
Personal: Born Sept. 19, 1991 . . . son of Nancy and William Cook . . . his father played football at Kansas . . . majoring in business-marketing.
 
ONE-ON-ONE WITH COOK
I can’t imagine going a week without: hooping
I have to admit, I am really good at: procrastinating
Favorite place to eat: Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen
Favorite movie: “Boyz N the Hood”
Favorite musician: Lil Wayne