Iowa basketball: Tyler Cook deserves his shot at the NBA

Tyler Cook, the star forward for the Iowa basketball team has earned his chance at the NBA, and we should be thankful for his time with the Hawks.

After toying with the NBA last year, having declared for the NBA draft before ultimately returning to the Iowa basketball team, Tyler Cook is yet again in the process of making a decision on his future.

As we said in an article a few days ago, it wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise if the star forward for the Iowa basketball team decided to jump to the NBA for good. After all, he is considered a second-round prospect with an NBA ready body, and he isn’t getting any younger at 21 years and 6 months old.

Fresh off of a junior campaign where he averaged 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in route to Second Team All-Big Ten honors and a season in which the Iowa basketball team advanced to the round of 32, there isn’t a ton left for the forward to accomplish.

This is why it really didn’t come to much surprise when Scott Dochterman of The Athletic reported that Tyler Cook is expected to declare for the draft and not return.

Although no official decision has been made, at this point, I fully expect Tyler Cook to ultimately take a chance at the highest level of professional basketball there is.

As for the Iowa basketball team, Tyler Cook’s departure is a huge loss for the program, and any fan who says otherwise wasn’t paying attention. Yes, there were lapses at times, but for the majority of the season, Tyler Cook was the best player on the Iowa basketball team. At 6’9” and 250 pounds he could be downright dominant, and that same athleticism that made him a beast in Big Ten play will help him transition to the NBA as a depth player.

We noted this as well in a recent article, but the biggest thing here is Cook has to make the decision of whether he can grow much more with the Hawks or he has a better chance of enhancing his game with the coaching at the next level.

Whatever his decision is though, I am excited to continue watching his career and see the success he has. He gave an incredible three years to the Iowa basketball program, and as Iowa basketball fans, we should be thankful for that!