Former Iowa Hawkeye Star Cook Signs Multi-Year Deal With Pistons
Tyler Cook has finally made it. As an Iowa fan, I'm so excited to see him get to take his impressive "thunder dunks" to the pro level...full time.
Earlier this year, the 23 year-old Cook, played in eight games with the Iowa Wolves of the NBA’s G League (in Des Moines). Then the Brooklyn Nets were looking to add some young front-court depth, when they signed Cook to a 10-day contract, he ended up playing in four games for the Nets.
In mid-March, the 6-8, 255, Cook got his audition with the Detroit Pistons. He signed a 10-day contract with Detroit on March 18, followed by a second 10-day deal on March 28. He has appeared in 11 games with the Pistons averaging 4.0 points (63% FG), and 2.8 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game.
Now according to a press release: The Pistons have announced that the team has signed the power forward to a multi-year contract that includes guaranteed money. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, per team policy, but I'm guessing it has many 0's on the end of it.
An article on Detroit Bad Boys.com says that "Cook quickly became a favorite of coach Dwane Casey for his athleticism, competitiveness and hustle all over the court." That description is not surprising for Iowa fans, we used to see him exemplify all those qualities in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Good Luck to Tyler from Hawkeye fans everywhere!
BACKGROUND ON COOK - (Originally published Jan. 11, 2021)
One of the most dynamic players in Iowa Hawkeye basketball history is coming back to the state to play basketball in our capitol city of Des Moines.
Tyler Cook played for the Hawkeyes from 2016 through 2019, then skipped his senior season for a shot at the NBA. As a Hawkeye fan myself, I can remember Cook bringing me out of my chair many times with his thunderous dunks, plain and simple, the man is a "baller". (SCROLL DOWN for his college career highlights video) I remembering watching Cook play in a pick-up summer league at the Cedar Valley Sportsplex, and I marveled at how he was a "man among boys". He came to Iowa ranked as a top 100 player out of high school and finished as 1 of 9 Hawkeyes with 1,300 points and 600 rebounds in a career.
Cook went un-drafted in 2019, and spent some time on the Denver Nuggets and Cleveland Cavaliers rosters. In February of last year, the Oklahoma City Blue announced they had acquired Cook. Now, The Iowa Wolves, the NBA "G" League affiliate of the Minnesota Timberwolves, announced the team has acquired the returning player rights to the 6'8", 255 pound Cook from the Blue. According to a Wolves press release, the 23-year-old signed a training camp contract with the Timberwolves on Dec. 2, 2020 before being waived on Dec. 19, 2020.