When Hallice Cooke made his initial decision to attend Oregon State out of high school, the New Jersey native made what he calls a "quick decision." That is something that the Oregon State transfer vows not to do this time around, a few months after a freshman campaign where he averaged 8.2 points per game while making 46 percent of his 3-point shots.
The sophomore did not commit during his official visit to Iowa State over the weekend but Cooke did leave Ames with a positive feeling about Fred Hoiberg’s program.
“I got a good feel for the campus life and the work that is put in by the players,” Cooke told CycloneFanatic.com on Sunday night. “I got a feel for life in Iowa. It was a good experience.”
Cooke specifically spent time getting to know Hoiberg.
“He is a really down to earth guy,” Cooke said. “You can tell that he is a player’s coach. All of the players talk positively about him. He was telling me how I would fit in and stuff like that. I learned a lot about his background in the NBA and his career. I learned about the relationships that he has with people all over.”
During their time together, the Hoiberg/Cooke combo discussed everything from life in Ames, Hoiberg’s philosophy on the game and of course, where the 6-foot-3 guard would potentially fit in with the program.
“He talked a lot about my shot and play-making ability. We talked about what it would be like for me to play with Monte (Morris) and Naz (Long) and stuff like that. We could be a really deep team if that happens,” Cooke said. “He told me about how they led the country two years ago in 3-point shooting. He said I’d be able to shoot a lot of threes and spread the court. We watched some highlights from this year. It looks like fun basketball.”
Cooke now has an official visit scheduled with St. Josephs next weekend. He is currently working on scheduling an official with Dayton as well. Rutgers and Creighton are also under consideration.
“Once I feel that the time is right I will make a decision. This will give me something to compare,” Cooke said. “That’s something that I didn’t do out of high school. I made a quick decision. I want to see a little bit of everything and then make a decision.”
Along with Cooke, Boston College transfer Ryan Anderson also visited Iowa State this weekend. We’ve yet to get in touch with him according to a source, Anderson did not commit on to Iowa State on the visit.
