should have stayed, worked on his shooting which was starting to show-up, learned how to play better D and most importantly gotten his degree assuming he was close to being on track. He will end up in Europe anyway IMO. A degree or lack of one might be the most important thing in a few years.
Know it is now old hat now but, Cook
- Thread starter Hawk68
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Fran said today that he was very close to graduating. Maybe 2 classes short? He wanted to play pro ball in some fashion and Fran was supportive.
He’s a 21 year old man that made a grown up decision. And ,as Suterman already stated, he’s very close to graduating. Get over it and live your own life.
He can always go back to college. He has 10-15 years of pro ball at the absolute most. Make that money while you can.
Seems if those are things you want to see him improve, he made the best choice to do just that. He's going to be able to put all his time and effort into skill development and working with trainers/coaches a hole hell of a lot more than he would if he stayed in school.
Tyler will get his degree from Iowa, that's a no brainer for him and his family and he is very close to getting that. But he also has a dream and desire to play in the NBA and I love that he speaks about that and doesn't shy away from chasing that dream.
It came down to returning and chasing some unfinished business (1st team All-Big Ten, Conf. Championship, Deep NCAA tourney run) or begin the journey toward the NBA as I noted above by going all in. A factor in that decision was some of the injuries Tyler has had. Freshman missed 8 games with broken finger. Last year didn't miss games but had injured thumb. This year had early hand injuries and then missed games with knee and ankle injuries that really I feel sealed the deal to leave early.
The only way TC makes the NBA is rebounding, ala Reggie Evans. He will never be a good enough shooter to take minutes and shots away from 90% of the people in the NBA. He could however, be a reggie evans or even Nick Collison.
Go to the G league, develop and possibly catch on, make 40K a year or Go back to Iowa and not develop, play by the horrible NCAA rules, and have to go to class. Hmmm. yeah Cook made a good choice. Fran didn't develop him in 3 years, what makes you think he is going to develop defense and a mid range game in his final year?
He didn’t show that kind of heart during his collegiate career...doubt it shows up now that he’ll be competing against bigger/stronger/faster competition overall in the pros.
Cool appeared to be all in at times while at Iowa, but at times it sure looked like he had an agenda. You all have to admit he was fun to watch at times, but the last half of this season more times then not he was awful.
Disagree.
He has touch and if he works at it he can become a competent threat from 12-15 ft which will open the lane too. He's not a bad passer either. IMO work hard on the shot and awareness on the court.
He was looked to to be the go to guy and he did that well at times. He needs to up his court awareness to move the ball when they over commit.
He simply was trying too hard.
I fully expect that 30 years from now stunted people will be posting about Cook's ballhandling, passing, shooting, heart, hell, even his spleen. One would think people would give him a break, given he had a lot of collegiate offers, and chose Iowa and helped win a lot of games for Iowa. But nooooo.
What makes you think he will learn how to shoot and play better D at Iowa as opposed to Europe? He has been in Iowa City for 3 years and not developed a shot.
If he comes back next year to work on his game, that also helps get his Hawkeyes get back to the NCAA. As it stands now, with him gone...(along with Moss to a lesser degree)...and with no immediate replacements from the transfer portal or in the 2019 class, we're basically screwed.
The kid should've finished off his career, worked on bettering his game (for his own sake), gotten his degree (for his own sake), and in the process helped his college teammates out by giving them a chance to have 2019-20 to remember.
Instead, he chooses to leave them hanging just to go earn a few bucks, most likely from some European club. He could've done that next year. (Unless there is some dire financial situation that his family is in where he needs $$ now, in which case I don't blame him for leaving.)
So yeah, as a fan of the Hawkeyes, I will hold a tiny bit of a grudge. What he brought to the table the last few years doesn't make up for it. His career leans more to minor disappointment and unfulfilled potential. A talent like him, a once in a decade type of talent for Iowa basketball, should've gotten us more than what we got. I will concede a portion of that disappointment falls on Fran's shoulders.
I simply feel Tyler could've really made a difference next year for the Hawkeyes, while also helping himself fulfill his dream of getting to the NBA. That's it in a nutshell.
Stunted people probably won't understand that, but hey, it is what it is.
I appreciate what you're saying, but his shooting was nowhere close to showing up. In fact, you could make a strong case that he regressed significantly during the year. There were shots he took in the last ten games that were straight chucks, absolutely zero chance they were going in. Unfortunately, that included the ones from close range. There were many times I was yelling "watch your face" when he was doing that crap.
Tyler Cook is no longer an interesting topic.
Let him fade away into obscurity.
Let him fade away into obscurity.
Tyler was a really good player for the Hawks but to play in the NBA he had to be a monster on the glass and a pit bull on D. His own believe in his skill will keep him out of the NBA unless he focuses on those two parts of the game.
La Quinta: If he comes back next year to work on his game, that also helps get his Hawkeyes get back to the NCAA. As it stands now, with him gone...(along with Moss to a lesser degree)...and with no immediate replacements from the transfer portal or in the 2019 class, we're basically screwed.
I just don't think we are remotely screwed. Pemsl & Nunge together will surpass Cooks numbers. Moss averaged 9 ppg. Our guards will surpass this number. Our schedule is going to be harder so we probably lose some non con games this year but I think we have A LOT of returning talent. We will score tons of points and if we get even marginally better on defense, the team will be better this coming season.
I just don't think we are remotely screwed. Pemsl & Nunge together will surpass Cooks numbers. Moss averaged 9 ppg. Our guards will surpass this number. Our schedule is going to be harder so we probably lose some non con games this year but I think we have A LOT of returning talent. We will score tons of points and if we get even marginally better on defense, the team will be better this coming season.
