Let’s check in on Iowa basketball’s Tyler Cook

I am a millennial. So I’ve learned how to navigate the likes of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in a plethora of ways. Like most people my age and younger, I can pretty much find anyone on either of those three mediums at any given time. It’s not something I’m proud of, but if you were to ask anyone under 30 to find a random girl at party with only their first name, I’d bet 92.3% of them could get it done.

This is where we are in the world.

There are some that use these powers for pure evil (aka the Lennay Keukua’s of the world):

The rest of us? It’s all for funsies. We know that with great power comes even greater responsibility (I’m guessing this is what Uncle Ben will be referring to in the third reboot of Spiderman that’s coming in July).

To stalk is to care.

Take Tyler Cook for example, DID you know that he’s back at home working on his 360 dunks, step back jumpers and dribble drives with Corey Frazier and Pure Sweat Basketball?

Obviously, we don’t know the extent to which Cook is working on these skills, but I would guarantee he’s in the gym daily fine-tuning what he’s already a monster at (dunking on dudes’ domes) and raising the level’s on everything else. There’s no question in my mind that Cook is one of those dudes that takes his craft very seriously. These videos are a glimpse into that approach. Not only is he just in a gym, but he’s with a group of coaches that claim to “engineer greatness”.

Does anyone want to throw a few sheckles down on Cook for Big Ten Player of the Year with the person that runs the Iowa Hoops Twitter and I?

I wrote about it a few weeks ago, but for Cook to become a real Big Ten Player of the Year contender (which by proxy means he jumped right into the shoes left behind by Peter Jok), he’s got to add different offensive moves so that he can continue to effect games when Iowa’s opponents are clogging the lane to prevent him from defying gravity.

(Shouts to JPinIC)

Of course, these are only two videos and it’s all offensive sizzle. Clips like this are easier to consume. After all, nobody is searching for “Tyler Cook Defensive Slides” on YouTube (well, except for maybe me). I would imagine that a big part of Cook’s summer workouts (especially after seeing the second video) is foot work and ball handling. It’s no secret that Cook tended to get himself caught up down low when he wasn’t able to “athlete” his way to the rim. When he tried doing too much, the ball somehow found its way to the opposition. If he can limit those types of plays as a sophomore (which often led to turnovers), it’s hard to imagine what his ceiling might actually be.

I can’t wait to hear how this translates during the Hawkeyes time overseas.

Oh, one last note: There isn’t much that I wouldn’t do to get my hands on one of those “Buckets & Blessings” shirts.

I wonder if it will soon be a part of the future #TC5 online store?

That’s right... our boy has himself a logo.

One day, we’re all going to be bouncing our grand babies on our lap and telling them stories about the TC5’s, CP3’s and AK-47’s of the world and they’re going to look up at us with their cute little faces and ask us “why every single athlete tried so desperately to incorporate their numbers into their brand?”.

And when they do, I demand that you simply blame A-Rod and of course, ESPN. It’s always somehow their fault anyways.

Until next time, keep stalkin’.