Omar Cook

{{short description|American-born Montenegrin basketball player}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Omar Cook

| image = Omar Cook by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Cook playing with Lietuvos rytas in May 2014

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 1

| weight_lbs = 190

| league = NBA

| team = Cleveland Cavaliers

| position = Assistant coach

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|1|28}}

| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

| nationality = American / Montenegrin

| high_school = Christ The King
(Queens, New York)

| college = St. John's (2000–2001)

| draft_year = 2001

| draft_round = 2

| draft_pick = 32

| draft_team = Orlando Magic

| career_start = 2001

| career_end = 2022

| career_number = 10, 1, 00, 20,

| career_position = Point guard

| coach_start = 2022

| coach_end =

| years1 = 2001–2004

| team1 = Fayetteville Patriots

| years2 = {{nbay|2003|end}}

| team2 = Portland Trail Blazers

| years3 = 2004–2005

| team3 = Fayetteville Patriots

| years4 = {{nbay|2004|end}}

| team4 = Toronto Raptors

| years5 = 2005–2006

| team5 = Mons-Hainaut

| years6 = 2006–2007

| team6 = Samara

| years7 = 2007

| team7 = Strasbourg

| years8 = 2007–2008

| team8 = Crvena zvezda

| years9 = 2008–2010

| team9 = Unicaja

| years10 = 2010–2011

| team10 = Valencia

| years11 = 2011–2012

| team11 = Olimpia Milano

| years12 = 2012–2013

| team12 = Baskonia

| years13 = 2013–2014

| team13 = Rytas

| years14 = 2014–2016

| team14 = Budućnost

| years15 = 2016–2019

| team15 = Estudiantes

| years16 = 2019–2020

| team16 = Gran Canaria

| years17 = 2020–2021

| team17 = San Pablo Burgos

| years18 = 2021–2022

| team18 = Casademont Zaragoza

| cyears1 = 2022–2023

| cteam1 = Cleveland Charge (assistant)

| cyears2 = {{nbay|2023|start}}–present

| cteam2 = Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant)

| highlights = As player:

3× All-NBDL Second Team (2002, 2004, 2005)
2 x FIBA Champions League champion (2020, 2021)
FIBA EuroCup Challenge champion (2007)
2× Montenegrin League champion (2015, 2016)
2× Montenegrin Cup winner (2015, 2016)
Belgian Cup winner (2006)
2× Euroleague assists leader (2010, 2012)
NBDL assists leader (2002)
BPBL assists leader (2006)
BLS assists leader (2008)
3× Liga ACB assists leader (2010, 2018, 2019)
LKL assists leader (2014)
ABA League assists leader (2016)
FIBA Champions League assists leader (2018)
Liga ACB Defensive Player of the Year (2011)
LKL steals leader (2014)
First-team Parade All-American (2000)
McDonald's All-American (2000)

| bbr = cookom01

}}

Omar-Sharif Cook ({{langx|sr|Omar-Šarif Kuk / Омар-Шариф Кук}}; born January 28, 1982) is an American-Montenegrin professional basketball coach and former player currently working as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He represented Montenegro internationally. Prior to entering the draft he was considered a top 10 overall prospect by several NBA scouts.

Amateur career

Cook played high school basketball at Christ The King Regional High School, and then played college basketball at St. John's University. Cook ranked second in the nation and first in the Big East in assists during the one year he spent at St. John's. He also broke Mark Jackson's record for the most assists in a game for a St. John's player with 17, against Stony Brook University.

Professional career

Cook was drafted by the Orlando Magic of the NBA as the third pick in the second round (31st overall) of the 2001 NBA draft. He was immediately traded to the Denver Nuggets, but failed to make the team, reportedly because of his inability to shoot the ball effectively. From 2001 to 2004, Cook made some pre-season appearances for teams in the league, also managing 22 regular season games played (17 with the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2003–04 season and five with the Toronto Raptors in the 2004–05 season). In July 2005, he was drafted by the AAPBL, but the league folded less than two weeks after the draft.

He also briefly led the NBA D-League in steals and assists in the 2004–05 season, while playing with the Fayetteville Patriots. Cook's final NBA game was played on April 20, 2005, in a 104–95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his final game, Cook recorded 19 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block.

During the 2005–06 season, Cook played in the Belgian league with Dexia Mons-Hainaut. The following year, he played with two teams, the French Pro A club SIG Strasbourg and the Russian Super League club Samara. In the 2007–08 season, he played with the Adriatic League club Crvena zvezda. He had the best season of his career with Crvena zvezda, where he was one of the team leaders.[http://www.hoopshype.com/players/omar_cook.htm Career moves at HoopsHype.com.]

On June 26, 2008, he joined the Spanish league's Unicaja, signing with the club for two seasons.[http://www.unicajabaloncesto.com/leer_noticia.php?id_not=4982 Cook joins Málaga for two seasons.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722012524/http://www.unicajabaloncesto.com/leer_noticia.php?id_not=4982 |date=2008-07-22 }} {{in lang|es}} In 2010, he signed a two-year deal with Spanish basketball club Power Electronics Valencia.[http://www.euroleague.net/euroleaguenews/transactions/2010-11-signings/i/73662/4465/power-electronics-inks-playmaker-cook Power Electronics inks playmaker Cook .]

In 2011, he signed a two-year deal with Italian team Armani Jeans Milano.[http://www.sportando.net/eng/italy/serie-a/28720/olimpia_milano_agreed_to_terms_with_omar_cook.html Olimpia Milano agreed to terms with Omar Cook] In December 2012, after Milano was eliminated from the Euroleague, Cook signed with Caja Laboral until the end of the season.[http://www.acb.com/redaccion.php?id=90078 El Caja Laboral ficha a Omar Cook hasta el final de temporada] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709232158/http://www.acb.com/redaccion.php?id=90078 |date=July 9, 2013 }} {{in lang|es}}

On August 6, 2013, Cook signed with Lietuvos rytas of Lithuania for the 2013–14 season.{{cite web|title=Lietuvos Rytas adds floor general Cook|url=http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/115265/180|publisher=Euroleague.net|access-date=6 August 2013}}

On September 30, 2014, Cook signed a two-month deal with Budućnost Podgorica of Montenegro.{{cite news|title=Buducnost brings in assist master Cook|url=http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/eurocup/news/i/141079/3735/buducnost-brings-in-assist-master-cook|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006105910/http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/eurocup/news/i/141079/3735/buducnost-brings-in-assist-master-cook|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 6, 2014|access-date=October 5, 2014|work=Eurocupbasketball.com|date=September 30, 2014}} On November 14, 2014, he extended his contract with Budućnost for the rest of the season.{{cite news|title=Omar Cook extends with Buducnost for the season|url=http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/montenegro/141096/omar-cook-extends-with-buducnost-for-the-season.html|access-date=November 14, 2014|work=Sportando.com|date=November 14, 2014}} On August 15, 2015, he re-signed with Budućnost for one more season.{{cite news|title=Omar Cook extends with Buducnost|url=http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/montenegro/172779/omar-cook-extends-with-buducnost.html|access-date=August 15, 2015|work=Sportando.com|date=August 15, 2015}}

On August 20, 2016, Cook signed with Spanish club Estudiantes for the 2016–17 season.{{cite news|title=Omar Cook completa la dirección de juego de Movistar Estudiantes|url=http://clubestudiantes.com/frontend/clubestudiantes/noticia.php?id_noticia=13672&sesion_idioma=1|access-date=August 20, 2016|work=clubestudiantes.com|date=August 20, 2016|language=es|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160820141005/http://clubestudiantes.com/frontend/clubestudiantes/noticia.php?id_noticia=13672&sesion_idioma=1|archive-date=August 20, 2016|url-status=dead}} On July 17, 2019, Cook signed a one-plus-one deal with Herbalife Gran Canaria.{{cite news |title=Omar Cook signs with Herbalife Gran Canaria |url=https://sportando.basketball/en/omar-cook-signs-with-herbalife-gran-canaria/ |access-date=19 July 2019 |work=Sportando |date=17 July 2019}}

On July 24, 2020, he has signed with San Pablo Burgos of the Liga ACB.{{Cite news|url=https://sportando.basketball/en/omar-cook-signs-with-san-pablo-burgos/|title=Omar Cook signs with San Pablo Burgos|date=July 24, 2020|newspaper=Sportando|language=En|access-date=July 24, 2020|last1=Lupo |first1=Nicola }}

On July 15, 2021, he has signed with Casademont Zaragoza of the Liga ACB.{{Cite news|url=https://sportando.basketball/en/zaragoza-announces-signing-of-omar-cook/|title=Zaragoza announces signing of Omar Cook|last=|first=|date=July 15, 2021|website=|newspaper=Sportando|language=En|access-date=August 6, 2021|last1=Borghesan |first1=Ennio Terrasi }}

Coaching career

On September 29, 2022, Cook was hired as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League.{{cite web|title=Charge Finalize Coaching Staff for 2022-23 Season|url=https://cleveland.gleague.nba.com/news/charge-finalize-coaching-staff-for-2022-23-season|website=NBA.com|date=September 29, 2022|access-date=November 28, 2022}}

On October 24, 2023, Cook was hired as an assistant coach by the Cleveland Cavaliers.{{cite web|title=Charge Announce 2023-24 Coaching Staff|url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/charge-announce-2023-24-coaching-staff/n-6025514|website=OurSportsCentral.com|date=October 24, 2023|access-date=October 26, 2023}}

Career statistics

=NBA=

==Regular season==

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2003}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Portland

| 17 || 0 || 8.2 || .259 || .000 || .000 || .4 || 1.4 || .6 || .0 || .8

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2004}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Toronto

| 5 || 0 || 14.8 || .417 || .000 || .500 || 1.4 || 4.4 || 1.2 || .2 || 4.6

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career

| 22 || 0 || 9.7 || .333 || .000 || .500 || .6 || 2.1 || .7 || .0 || 1.7

=EuroLeague=

class="wikitable"

style="background:#CFECEC; width:1em"|*

| Led the league

| style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Málaga

| 16 || 11 || 23.5 || .365 || .391 || .750 || 1.9 || 5.1 || 1.3 || {{sort|-|—}} || 5.6 || 7.8

| style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10

| 16 || 15 || 27.9 || .408 || .385 || .794 || 1.8 || style="background:#CFECEC;"|5.9* || 1.2 || .1 || 9.7 || 10.9

| style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11

| style="text-align:left;"| Valencia

| 21 || 21 || 30.0 || .386 || .361 || .791 || 2.4 || 5.5 || 1.8 || .0 || 8.0 || 10.9

| style="text-align:left;"| 2011–12

| style="text-align:left;"| Milano

| 16 || 16 || 30.0 || .354 || .368 || .700 || 2.4 || style="background:#CFECEC;"|5.7* || 1.0 || {{sort|-|—}} || 7.3 || 11.0

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| 2012–13

| style="text-align:left;"| Milano

| 10 || 10 || 28.2 || .480 || .462 || .583 || 1.7 || 5.0 || 1.4 || {{sort|-|—}} || 7.3 || 9.8

| style="text-align:left;"| Baskonia

| 18 || 8 || 20.4 || .322 || .333 || .500 || 1.1 || 3.5 || 1.2 || {{sort|-|—}} || 3.1 || 4.5

| style="text-align:left;"| 2013–14

| style="text-align:left;"| Rytas

| 8 || 7 || 29.6 || .263 || .297 || .727 || 1.6 || 5.9 || 1.3 || {{sort|-|—}} || 6.1 || 6.5

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2|Career

| 105 || 88 || 26.9 || .372 || .372 || .738 || 1.9 || 5.2 || 1.3 || .0 || 6.7 || 8.9

Montenegrin national team

In May 2008, Cook received Montenegrin citizenship, thus applying to represent Montenegro's national basketball team.{{Cite web |url=http://www.mirosport.net/2008/basketball/959/cook-to-play-under-vujosevic/ |title=Cook to play under Vujosevic. |access-date=2009-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326082550/http://www.mirosport.net/2008/basketball/959/cook-to-play-under-vujosevic/ |archive-date=2009-03-26 |url-status=dead }}[http://www.talkbasket.net/news/omar-cook-officially-a-montenegrian.html Cook officially a Montenegrin.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090811002319/http://www.talkbasket.net/news/omar-cook-officially-a-montenegrian.html |date=2009-08-11 }}

References

External links

{{basketballstats|bbr=c/cookom01}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095020/http://www.aba-liga.com/League/Player.aspx?id=881 Omar Cook] at aba-liga.com
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304224118/http://www.acb.com/jugador.php?id=BFP Omar Cook] at acb.com
[http://www.eurobasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=SRB&PlayerID=31565 Omar Cook] at eurobasket.com
{{Sports links}}

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Category:1982 births

Category:Living people

Category:Montenegrin men's basketball players

Category:American men's basketball players

Category:American emigrants to Montenegro

Category:ABA League players

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Belgium

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Canada

Category:American expatriate basketball people in France

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Germany