By PAUL GOTHAM
Quality and quantity – Charles Cooke has a knack for both. The junior guard leads the University of Dayton Flyers in points scored. He also is at the top of the list when he it comes to closing games.
Cooke averaged 23.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals in a pair of road victories last week to earn Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Week. He also delivered at the end of both games.
“He’s really blossomed,” Dayton head coach Archie Miller said during the A-10 weekly tele-conference. “As you watched this past week he was a big reason why our offense started to really click early. He moved the ball a couple times early in the first half and got some guys some easy baskets. I thought that really springboarded us.”
Cooke scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds in UD’s 85-79 win at St. Bonaventure. It was his play on the defensive end,though, which saved the game.
With the Bonnies rallying to cut a 31-point deficit to six, Cooke denied SBU a chance to make it a one-possession game in the final seconds when he blocked Marcus Posley‘s 3-point attempt from the left corner.
Posley had scored 27 of his game-high 31 points in the second half. He was 5-for-9 behind the arc coming out of the locker room including a pair from long range as the Bonnies netted 41 points in the final 8:24 of the contest.
“This past week he was tremendous,” Miller added. “I can’t think of a guy that deserved player of the week more than him. Not just because of his numbers but because of the timely plays that he made on both ends of the floor for us when we needed it at winning time.
“Charles has done a tremendous job not only this week, but he’s done a tremendous job from the start of the season,” Miller stated. “He’s really embraced what we try to be about and what we try to do. He hasn’t tried to be something that he’s not.”
Cooke finished the week with 26 points at Fordham on Sunday. His personal 8-0 run in the game’s closing moments (ending at the 2:06 mark) helped UD hold off the Rams for a 64-50 win.
“Charles Cooke is really good,” first-year Fordham coach Jeff Neubauer said. “The impressive thing is how well he defends. Not only is he a really talented offensive player. He can make threes. He can spot up. He’s got mid-range. He has craftiness around the rim, but he’s also a terrific defender. He’s an all-around player.”
Cooke hit .727 (16-of-22) from the floor and behind the arc (8-of-11) in the two games.
“As the season has progressed, he’s given us a bona offensive weapon,” Miller commented. “I’m very, very pleased with his effort level and his competitiveness and what he’s added to our mix in terms of defensive abilities and rebounding and doing somethings like that.”
The James Madison transfer has scored in double figures in nine straight games and in 14 of 18 games played. The 6-5 guard out of Trenton, New Jersey not only leads Dayton connecting 47.4 percent of the time from long range, but his 37 triples paces the Flyers. He doesn’t have the minimum number of makes, but KenPom ranks the UD guard 47th in the country from long range.
“Give the coaching staff credit,” George Washington’s Mike Lonergan said. “We played against him at James Madison. I can’t believe how good of a shooter he is now. There are not many college players who you have to guard the three-point line and they’re also so good off the dribble.”
Cooke scored 15 against GW hitting 2-of-5 from long range and connecting six times inside the arc. He also delivered with a 3-point play in the final minute of a one-possession game.
“It was just a great play by a great player against a very good defender,” Lonergan continued. “You have to get up on him to take away his threes. That’s what makes him really good.
“Under Archie Miller he’s become a much better all-around player. Always talented, but now he’s a great player.”
Clutch plays haven’t just been a thing of late for Cooke. In November, he drilled a triple with 2:04 remaining to cut a four-point Iowa to one in UD’s 82-77 win over the Hawkeyes in the opening round of the Advocare Invitational. The next night, Cooke’s drive from the wing slowed an 11-2 Monmouth run in a 73-70 Flyer win.
“He’s a very competitive kid,” Miller said. “He plays to win. Last year, we saw signs of it and now that he’s been able to get into the mix with these guys.”
Dayton (16-3/6-1) continues A-10 play when they host the Saint Louis Billikens (8-11/3-4) on Wednesday night.
“He’s a really good player,” Saint Louis head coach Jim Crews said. “He’s a long kid, a quick kid. He really can shoot the basketball. He plays off the shot. He can drive the basketball. He knows when to post up. Not only does he have God-given talents, but he really uses his abilities in terms of being a flexible player by being inside and out.”
Dayton leads the all-time series between the two schools, 28-25 including a pair of single-digit wins last season. A 7 p.m. tip off is scheduled.
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