Heat's Cook heating up
Greg Oden got the hype. Mike Conley Jr. got the credit.
Fellow Ohio State freshman Daequan Cook, meanwhile, didn't even get a start during his team's run to the 2007 NCAA championship game.
OK, so he did start. Once -- in 39 appearances.
Jump ahead about eight months, and everything has changed. Greg Oden, considered the ''next great center'' and drafted No. 1 overall by the Trail Blazers, is out for the season because of a knee injury. Conley, taken fourth overall, was buried on a Grizzlies roster deep with point guards before sustaining an injured right shoulder.
And Daequan Cook? The 21st overall selection, considered more of a pick with potential than a first-year contributor, is on an upswing in an up-and-down rookie season. He played the final 15:19 in a one-point loss at Boston last week. He then was the first guard off the bench, finishing with 10 points in 22 minutes, in a win at New Jersey on Saturday.
In short, Daequan Cook almost is locked into coach Pat Riley's rotation.
Almost.
''He's playing well, so he's going to keep getting his name called,'' Riley said after practice Tuesday. ``It might not be all the time, but I have great confidence in him.''
Great confidence? In a 20-year-old? But isn't Riley a veteran-oriented coach who is reluctant to play rookies, especially ones with a year of college experience?
Even Riley is a bit shocked.
''He's young,'' Riley said, ``so it's a surprise for me.''
But Riley said surprise is more age-based than anything. He pointed to Daequan Cook's work ethic and willingness to improve. Anyone who shows those qualities, Riley said, gets consideration for playing time.
Daequan Cook's ability doesn't hurt, either. This athletic 6-5 wing player is shooting 36.4 percent from three-point range and 46.5 percent overall.
He also displays a quality rare to rookies: fearlessness. Although some NBA rookies are afraid to shoot, Daequan Cook shows little hesitation. ''He's not shy,'' Udonis Haslem said. ``He's definitely not shy.''
To Daequan Cook, it all is about confidence.
In the preseason, Daequan Cook said he worked on ''getting into the flow of the game'' and pushed himself to take open shots. This earned him some praise from Riley, along with some playing time.
It hasn't always been consistent. Despite averaging 9.0 points, Daequan Cook has sat out four games at Riley's discretion. Still, Daequan Cook said every time he plays in clutch situations, his confidence improves. And that's important for a player still trying to prove himself, especially to those more familiar with Greg Oden and Conley.
''[I'm] just going out there working hard -- proving to myself, first off, that I'm capable of playing,'' Daequan Cook said, ``And then just going out there and proving it to everybody else that they [were] overlooking another great player like me.''
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