Pooh
10-07-2003, 12:25 PM
By Mark Montieth
[email protected]
October 7, 2003
It's a unanimous opinion in the Indiana Pacers' training camp that Omar Cook is ready for the NBA. Whether the Pacers are ready for him is a different matter.
So far, fate has intervened on the point guard's behalf. With veterans Anthony Johnson and Kenny Anderson forced into courtside seats by injuries, Cook will have more opportunities to prove himself in practice and exhibition games.
Given what he's shown so far and the odds against him, he figures to be one of the primary subplots of camp.
Two years ago, when he left St. John's after his freshman season, he was regarded as a cocky kid who had come out for the NBA draft too soon.
Today?
"I'm a much better person and a much better player," he said. "I'm ready. And I'm ready now."
Cook's tale is cautionary, but not necessarily sad. Stripped to its essentials, it goes like this:
He was a McDonald's High School All-American in Queens, N.Y., then went to St. John's. He finished second in the nation in assists (8.7) as a freshman, breaking Mark Jackson's single-game school record with 17 against Stony Brook.
He then entered the NBA draft but dropped into the second round because of league-wide doubts about his attitude and shooting ability. Denver took him and talked of giving him a guaranteed one-year contract, but the offer was rescinded after management changed hands.
Cook reported to camp three days late as a result, falling behind from the outset, and was cut the final week of camp.
Dallas signed him, then released him without playing him, and he hooked on with Fayetteville (Ark.) in the National Basketball Development League. He led the league in assists his first season, then failed in another NBA tryout with Orlando last fall.
Cook returned to Fayetteville for another season and finished second in the league in assists despite playing off the bench.
Now he's trying to find a home among the Pacers' crowded house of point guards. Nothing is guaranteed, but nobody is counting him out.
Jamaal Tinsley, Jamison Brewer, Anderson and Johnson all have guaranteed contracts. But room can be made for a promising free agent, either by trade or by releasing a player and absorbing his contract.
"It's possible," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said of Cook's chances. "It's not 100 percent sure, but that's why camp is 28 days long and you have eight exhibition games.
"He's like a lot of guys in this league who are very, very close. They're the right situation away from being in the league."
Cook, 21, compares himself to Pacers forward Ron Artest, with whom he played on AAU teams while growing up in New York. Both have displayed negative personality characteristics because of their intense approach and have been branded as a result. Artest had a temper. Cook had a stone-faced, angry demeanor.
"I never used to smile on the court," said the 6-1 Cook. "I never spoke to friends from the other team even if it was three or four days before the game. So people thought I was a hard person to get along with and didn't want to listen.
"I wasn't being cocky, I was just being myself. I thought I was self-confident. I used to say I wasn't going to change for anybody. But that didn't work. It was a matter of getting more mature."
Riding NBDL buses for two seasons could humble anyone. For Cook, it's now a matter of proving he has NBA-caliber skills. Nobody in the Pacers' camp doubts he can run an offense and defend well enough. The remaining question is his jump shot. He never hit better than 38 percent from the field in college or the NBDL, and while it has improved, it's still short of deadly.
Pacers scout Jimmy Powell, who watched Cook play three times last season, compares him to Eric Snow, the Philadelphia point guard who just signed a four-year contract extension worth $25.6 million.
Snow, drafted 43rd overall, sat on Seattle's bench for 2 1/2 seasons, was traded to Philly for a second-round pick, then blossomed as his playing time and shooting touch improved.
"Once Omar learns to take a kick-out from the post and bury that jump shot, he'll be in this league for 10 years," Powell said.
"Omar just needs a break. Eric had a good break and now Omar needs one. I hope we can give it to him here, but if not he deserves it somewhere else."
[email protected]
October 7, 2003
It's a unanimous opinion in the Indiana Pacers' training camp that Omar Cook is ready for the NBA. Whether the Pacers are ready for him is a different matter.
So far, fate has intervened on the point guard's behalf. With veterans Anthony Johnson and Kenny Anderson forced into courtside seats by injuries, Cook will have more opportunities to prove himself in practice and exhibition games.
Given what he's shown so far and the odds against him, he figures to be one of the primary subplots of camp.
Two years ago, when he left St. John's after his freshman season, he was regarded as a cocky kid who had come out for the NBA draft too soon.
Today?
"I'm a much better person and a much better player," he said. "I'm ready. And I'm ready now."
Cook's tale is cautionary, but not necessarily sad. Stripped to its essentials, it goes like this:
He was a McDonald's High School All-American in Queens, N.Y., then went to St. John's. He finished second in the nation in assists (8.7) as a freshman, breaking Mark Jackson's single-game school record with 17 against Stony Brook.
He then entered the NBA draft but dropped into the second round because of league-wide doubts about his attitude and shooting ability. Denver took him and talked of giving him a guaranteed one-year contract, but the offer was rescinded after management changed hands.
Cook reported to camp three days late as a result, falling behind from the outset, and was cut the final week of camp.
Dallas signed him, then released him without playing him, and he hooked on with Fayetteville (Ark.) in the National Basketball Development League. He led the league in assists his first season, then failed in another NBA tryout with Orlando last fall.
Cook returned to Fayetteville for another season and finished second in the league in assists despite playing off the bench.
Now he's trying to find a home among the Pacers' crowded house of point guards. Nothing is guaranteed, but nobody is counting him out.
Jamaal Tinsley, Jamison Brewer, Anderson and Johnson all have guaranteed contracts. But room can be made for a promising free agent, either by trade or by releasing a player and absorbing his contract.
"It's possible," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said of Cook's chances. "It's not 100 percent sure, but that's why camp is 28 days long and you have eight exhibition games.
"He's like a lot of guys in this league who are very, very close. They're the right situation away from being in the league."
Cook, 21, compares himself to Pacers forward Ron Artest, with whom he played on AAU teams while growing up in New York. Both have displayed negative personality characteristics because of their intense approach and have been branded as a result. Artest had a temper. Cook had a stone-faced, angry demeanor.
"I never used to smile on the court," said the 6-1 Cook. "I never spoke to friends from the other team even if it was three or four days before the game. So people thought I was a hard person to get along with and didn't want to listen.
"I wasn't being cocky, I was just being myself. I thought I was self-confident. I used to say I wasn't going to change for anybody. But that didn't work. It was a matter of getting more mature."
Riding NBDL buses for two seasons could humble anyone. For Cook, it's now a matter of proving he has NBA-caliber skills. Nobody in the Pacers' camp doubts he can run an offense and defend well enough. The remaining question is his jump shot. He never hit better than 38 percent from the field in college or the NBDL, and while it has improved, it's still short of deadly.
Pacers scout Jimmy Powell, who watched Cook play three times last season, compares him to Eric Snow, the Philadelphia point guard who just signed a four-year contract extension worth $25.6 million.
Snow, drafted 43rd overall, sat on Seattle's bench for 2 1/2 seasons, was traded to Philly for a second-round pick, then blossomed as his playing time and shooting touch improved.
"Once Omar learns to take a kick-out from the post and bury that jump shot, he'll be in this league for 10 years," Powell said.
"Omar just needs a break. Eric had a good break and now Omar needs one. I hope we can give it to him here, but if not he deserves it somewhere else."