Iowa basketball: Cook takes big step towards NBA dreams

Former Iowa basketball player Tyler Cook didn’t receive an initial invitation to the 2019 NBA Draft Combine, but he’s got one now.

Much like the NFL Combine, the NBA Combine is where scouts are going to find most of the players who are likely to be drafted. Sure, there are a few that slip through the cracks, but most of those guys are overseas players. So when a player such as former Iowa basketball forward Tyler Cook doesn’t get invited to the NBA Combine, it’s a big deal.

Cook left school early after another good season with the Iowa basketball team where he averaged 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in 30.8 minutes of play. Although struggling early against Tennessee in the round of 32, he was an instrumental catalyst to the Hawks making an improbable comeback.

Theoretically, he could have come back for another season of refinement, but I feel like he may be venturing down the path of I have reached my peak in college, let’s see what pro coaching can do at this point.

Either way, he is in the draft process, and he is here to stay, but not getting that initial NBA Combine invite was a big deal. It meant evaluators didn’t feel Cook was one of the top 60 players in the draft.

Fortunately for the St Louis native, he was basically given a tryout in the 2019 G-League Elite Camp, much like Jake Gervase was given a tryout this past week, for an opportunity to get into the NBA Draft. The odds would have to be defied though as only a select few would make the cut out of the 80 invited (some of those 80 are current G-League players).

After an intense couple of days in Chicago, Cook lived to see another day as he officially made the cut as one of just ten players to be invited to the NBA Combine.

To be fair, there is nothing wrong with not playing NBA basketball. The European leagues offer an incredible opportunity with better pay than you would expect and the G-League can be an invaluable resource for a young player to get professional coaching while staying stateside in case of injuries result in open roster spots.

For Cook though, being able to participate in the 2019 NBA Draft Combine is a huge deal. It means he could be back on scouts radar as a potential mid-second round flyer type of pick. His athleticism is off the charts, but his shooting touch just needs a bit more refinement as does his defensive skills.

The 2019 NBA Draft Combine begins tomorrow and runs through Friday, and it will be aired on ESPN2 or the WatchESPN app.