Leadership from Cook proves to be difference

It is no secret that Georgia’s men’s basketball team is working with a revamped roster, with only five players from last season returning for the 2021-22 season.

One of Georgia’s returning players is graduate student PJ Horne, who suffered a season-ending knee injury prior to the season. The most notable players the Bulldogs lost were talented freshman KD Johnson, sophomore Toumani Camara, and ALL-SEC point guard Sahvir Wheeler.

With Wheeler, the team’s leader in assists in 2020, leaving Georgia, a void was left in the point guard position. One of the key additions that the Bulldogs made to their team is graduate student Aaron Cook, a sixth-year point guard who transferred from Gonzaga.

After the exhibition game against Morehouse, coach Tom Crean said that Cook needs to be the “catalyst” for the Georgia offense. Cook lived up to those hopes for the Bulldog offense on Tuesday night in the season opening win against Florida International.

Cook stuffed the stat sheet in his Georgia debut, recording 10 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Cook’s presence was not only felt as a player, but as a leader. Cook said he looks to be a leader every time he is on the court for the new-look Bulldogs.

“I pride myself on that everyday,” Cook said. “I write down my little goals like, ‘be a consistent leader everyday.’”

Despite Cook leading the team in points and assists against FIU, he says that scoring and assisting is not his main role on the team.

“It’s not about me scoring 20 or 30 points, I got teammates that can do that,” Cook said. “I got teammates that can rebound, that can post up, and do all these things. For me I think the biggest role that I have on this team is being a leader and bringing us together so that we can be successful going through the season.”

Cook showed his toughness and leadership late in this game when he was fouled going for a dunk attempt in the second half. Cook got up gingerly as FIU was charged with a flagrant foul for the block attempt. Crean said Cook handled the foul in a way he hopes to see in his players.