UW Basketball Signs Junior College Player

University of Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt announced Wednesday that 6-9, 195-pound forward Derek Cooke has signed a National Letter of Intent and will transfer to UW from Cloud County Community College. Cooke will have three years of eligibility remaining.

Cooke used a redshirt in 2010-11, before helping the Thunderbirds to a 25-8 overall record during the 2011-12 campaign. Cloud County went 11-5 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and advanced to the semifinals of the NJCAA Division I Region VI Tournament. Cooke notched team highs of 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 55 percent from the floor to go with 6.0 points and nearly one steal per game.

Cooke attended Friendly High School in Washington, D.C., where he was a 6-2 wide receiver on the football team. An NCAA qualifier after graduating, he decided to take a year off from school and hit a growth spurt, before enrolling at Cloud County to play his first organized basketball. Cooke was also recruited by Missouri State and Evansville.