With Duke's season in the books, The Blue Zone will review the seasons of all the Blue Devils, beginning with the freshman Monday and ending with the seniors and graduate students Friday.
Quinn Cook
- Year: Junior
- Height: 6-foot-2
- This year’s statline: 11.6 PPG, 4.4 APG, 2.2 RPG, 1.3 SPG
- The Blue Zone's projected statline: 13.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.7 SPG
Season breakdown: After showing flashes of excellence in his sophomore season as Duke's floor general, Quinn Cook was expected to be a dominant force in the backcourt in his junior season. As the season began, it was apparent that heaad coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke staff trusted Cook to be that guy, playing him 30-plus minutes in 15 of the first 16 games. However, the Washington D.C. native was relegated to the bench soon afterwards, and senior Tyler Thornton earned the starter’s role for the latter part of the season.
Regardless of his playing time situation, Cook continued to show his fiery side when on the court. Just search his gif floating around on the internet of him hitting a three-pointer against Syracuse in Cameron Indoor. Those few seconds say it all. Throughout the season, Cook’s on ball defensive intensity caused opposing guards to struggle in the half-court, and helped the Blue Devils get easy buckets in transition. Most importantly though, Cook earned valuable experience playing 29.8 minutes per game on the year, something that incoming freshman phenom Tyus Jones has none of.
Results relative to expectations: Analysts across the country thought Quinn Cook could contend for the Cousy Award—the award given to the best point guard in college basketball—and so did we. Cook scored about two points less than what we projected for him and dished two fewer assists per night. Playing almost four minutes fewer per game than he did last year did not help his cause, but the junior guard simply did not make the leap that some thought he would this season. Cook will need to play at a higher level next year to grab control of the starting point guard spot, as McDonald’s All-American Tyus Jones is coming straight his way. It will be interesting to see who Coach K elects to start when next season rolls around. Maybe, he will go with both.
In case you've missed it, we've already reviewed: Alex Murphy, Matt Jones, Semi Ojeleye, Jabari Parker, Amile Jefferson, Rasheed Sulaimon, Marshall Plumlee, Rodney Hood
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