VITALS: 6-5, 210, Ohio State OVERVIEW: Cook did not start for his college team as a freshman but he's making the jump to the NBA. Voted the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year by the league's coaches, Cook finished fourth on the Buckeyes in scoring at 9.8 points. He scored in double figures 16 times, but his production diminished when star freshman Greg Oden returned from a preseason injury. Cook averaged over 17 points in his first eight games of the season, but in the NCAA Tournament he only averaged 4.8 points and played a combined 16 minutes in Final Four matchups against Georgetown and Florida. He shot 42 percent from the arc and had a career-high 23 points against Coppin State. LIKELY DRAFT POSITION: 20-30 COMPARATIVE UPSIDE: Michael Redd COMPARATIVE DOWNSIDE: Rodney Buford ROLE PROJECTION: Cold-blooded shooter off the bench. POSITIVES: Cook has vast potential. He is a fine athlete with a good shooting touch which extends to the NBA 3-point line. He moves well without the ball to get in good position to shoot. His release, extension and lift off the floor are all excellent. SHORTCOMINGS: Cook did not start or play big minutes during his only season at Ohio State and has only a rudimentary understanding of the game. He has to work on his ball-handling, learning how to set his man up for drives with fakes and how to maximize his footwork to enable him to get to the basket swiftly. Defensively, he needs to learn how to play screens, since he'll be trying to dodge them his entire career defending shooting guards. He seems to have little idea what he should be doing to help his teammates. Every move he makes on the court now is in anticipation of his touching the ball. He is a work in progress.
