COOK-ing with heat
Daequan Cook is officially an NBA player.
The former Dunbar High School and Ohio State basketball standout made the Miami Heat's 15-man roster Monday.
"I worked hard and I feel like it's paying off," Daequan Cook said. "Coach (Pat Riley) made cuts (Sunday) and said this is the team he was going with."
The 6-foot-5 guard practiced Monday morning and then went to Subway to get Alonzo Mourning a sandwich (a cold-cut sub, barbeque chips and two oatmeal-raisin cookies).
Daequan Cook is a rookie, after all.
"I had a little rookie duty after practice," he said. "But they're not that bad with the rookie stuff like other teams."
Miami opens at home Thursday against Detroit and plays at Indiana on Friday.
"These are the best professional players playing on the highest level — the best players in the world playing this game," Daequan Cook said of his NBA learning curve. "These are grown men out there."
Daequan Cook, 20, is the youngest guy on a veteran team. Mourning is 37, Penny Hardaway is 36, Shaquille O'Neal is 35 and Jason Williams and Mark Blount are 31.
"They still have fun, laugh and giggle like young kids," Daequan Cook said. "They still enjoy playing the game and being around each other."
When he will play
Daequan Cook plays his first regular-season NBA games this weekend.
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