Cooke's story of lost potential sad, but not tragic
When Lenny Cooke gingerly stepped onto the scale, the numbers read a startling '308.' This from a once-chiseled, 220-pound physical specimen who had been considered the No. 1 player in the country a decade or so ago, one of those few can't-miss prospects.
But Cooke has missed.
And he's at peace with it.
The father of three is no longer bothered when he hears the whispers about how LeBron virtually ended his career with that game-winning 3-point dagger at ABCD Camp in Teaneck, N.J.
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Now he just wants to help his 11-year-old son and other kids avoid the issues that plagued him coming out of New York tabbed as the 'next big thing.'
Few recall that Cooke came directly off the court in a head-to-head battle with Carmelo Anthony prior to his matchup with LeBron.
And that's fine with Cooke.
"LeBron had a better game than me," the 28-year-old Cooke said. "That's when his career exploded."
Most weren't aware that Cooke, growing up in New York, did have a support system that included his parents, but they weren't basketball-savvy, so he was basically left to fend for himself while all the leaches tried to swoop in and prey on his naiveté.
"Every decision I made, I had to make on my own," Cooke said.
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| Cooke, playing in a summer league game in 2003, says he wouldn't have signed with an agent at 18 if he could it all over. (Getty Images) |
"I'm not done playing," said Cooke, who currently resides with his fiancé and three children -- ages 11, 9 and 1 -- in Virginia.
At one time, there was Lenny, Amar'e and Carmelo.
In that order.
"I was playing off pure talent," Cooke said. "Nobody worked with me. I got my name from pure talent."
"It wasn't that I didn't work," he added. "I just wasn't focused like the rest of those guys."
But that's not easy in New York, either. It's an environment that has eaten up more than its share of supposed 'can't-miss' kids -- guys like Lloyd Daniels, Felipe Lopez and Sebastian Telfair.
But Cooke's physique, production and potential was plenty to put him among the stars of the future in the Class of 2002. Cooke struggled academically and bounced around a few high schools, which ultimately made him ineligible for the prestigious McDonald's All-American Game.
The hope was to try and get his academics in order and play at St. John's. Then Mike Jarvis was fired.
That's when Cooke made the mistake of signing with an agent, a move that paid off in the form of brand-new Mercedes at the age of 18, but also removed college basketball from the equation.
"I don't have any regrets, but I would have gone to college if I could have done it over again," Cooke admitted.
Every NBA franchise passed on Cooke, some on multiple occasions, in June of 2002. I went to see him play in Brooklyn in the USBL and he had displayed the same dominance and swagger he did on the AAU circuit. Then came a stop in the CBA and the NBDL before he went out west to play for the Long Beach Jam of the ABA.
He averaged 16.2 points and 7.4 rebounds in five games and said he was informed a 10-day NBA call-up was coming shortly after the New Year.
Then came the car crash in December of 2004.
"I still don't remember anything," Cooke said of the accident that put him in a coma for seven days. "I came out and they wanted to amputate my leg."
Cooke wasn't driving. His teammate, Nick Sheppard, lost control of the wheel and his passenger wasn't wearing a seat belt. Cooke broke his left shin and femur and still has a metal rod from his hip down to his ankle as a result of the wreck.
"The doctors told me I was never going to walk again," Cooke said. "That I would never play basketball again."
Cooke spent the next year-plus in a wheelchair, fallen out of love with the game that had put him on the map just a few years earlier.
His weight ballooned, but eventually he fought his way back and made his return to the court. However, then came a pair of torn Achilles -- one with the CBA and one in the Philippines.
Cooke now resides in Virginia, spending time with his family, speaking to kids -- including his 11-year-old son, Anahijae -- on the lessons he learned and also awaiting the release of a documentary that has been following his life since he burst onto the scene more than a decade ago.
"I want people to know that I've matured," Cooke said. "If you've got talent, I tell kids to use it to get a free education.
"Anything can happen," he added. "Just like it did for me. You need something to fall back on."
Cooke is hoping to start a non-profit foundation to help kids learn from his mistakes. He still stays in touch with Amar'e and Carmelo, saying he just took a different path from their days a decade or so ago when they'd go at it on the court.
"It is what it is," Cooke said. "I had my fun. My time. My limelight."
"I'd love to be in the NBA, but I'm not complaining," he added. "I'm not on the street selling drugs. Everything's worked out. I've got my family, I'm trying to get back in shape and hopefully I can get back on the court."
"But if not," Cooke continued. "I'm OK with it."
