Norman Cook (March 21, 1955 – December 22, 2008Justin Tierney.
Lincoln High legend Norman Cook dies
. ''State Journal-Register''. December 23, 2008.) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A 6'8" forward from

Lincoln Community High School Lincoln Community High School is located at 1000 Railer Way in Lincoln, Illinois, United States. It is the only high school of the Lincoln Community High School District #404. Sports The school is a traditional power in boys' basketball, music ...

in Lincoln, Illinois, Cook played basketball at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

from 1973 to 1976. He was named the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associat ...

's Freshman of the Year in 1974 after averaging 11.4 points per game and helping the Kansas Jayhawks reach the NCAA Final Four. Cook left the University of Kansas after his junior season to make himself eligible for the 1976 NBA draft, where he was selected by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

.Former Kansas basketball star Norm Cook dies
. ''Kansas City Star''. December 26, 2008. He appeared in 27 games over two seasons with the Celtics and

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, averaging 2.4 points per game.Norm Cook
basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on December 27, 2008. Cook was haunted by bouts of

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

. Cook's son, Brian Cook, has played for several NBA teams.

References

1955 births 2008 deaths American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Denver Nuggets players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball Power forwards (basketball) 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people {{1950s-US-basketball-bio-stub