Quinn Cook, a former Duke guard, receives second chance with Canton Charge.
Quinn Cook is all about staying in the moment and taking advantage of every opportunity in front of him.
Throughout the Cleveland Cavaliers training camp this past fall, Cook was in a battle for the Cavaliers final roster spot along with guard Jared Cunningham.
“I didn’t make the team so that gave me a lot of motivation to come down (to Canton) and prove to a lot of people that I can play in the NBA,” Cook said.
In his time with the Cavaliers' training camp, Cook said he learned "a lot from the other members of the team about how to be a better professional on and off the court." Cleveland is 30-12 and is the No. 1 seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference.
With the Charge, Cook is making the most of his opportunity. In 24 games this season, the first-year guard is averaging 18.8 points, 4.7 assists and is shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc for the Charge.
During the NBA D-League’s annual showcase event which took place the first week of January in Santa Cruz, CA, Cook put on a strong showing in their two nationally televised games. Cook averaged 18 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 48.1 percent from the floor in the D-League showcase.
Before coming to the Charge, however, Cook spent four years playing college basketball at Duke.
At Duke, Cook averaged 11 points and four assists and won a national championship in 2015. He played four years under coach Mike Krzyzewski.
"It was fun man, he taught me a lot and I learned a lot, not just on the court but off the court stuff as well," Cook said of the legendary coach. "He is like a father to me.”
In the course of Cook’s time at Duke he was able to play with several players who went on to the next level, including 2015 NBA third overall pick Jahlil Okafor.
“He’s playing terrific so far,” Cook said of Okafor. “I think he is the best player in the rookie draft class, he is a franchise player.”
2015 was Cook’s senior year and his Duke team accomplished something that only four other Duke teams have done: winning a national championship.
“I have been at the highest and lowest and to leave as a winner, that is why you play college basketball and why people watch college basketball, for stories like that," Cook said.
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Cook said he has been playing the game of basketball his whole life but his motivation has remained the same throughout his time on the court, despite not making the Cavalier's roster.
“I love to leave the gym knowing I got better every single day," Cook said.
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