Tyler Thornton Quinn Cook
friendship pays off for
Duke
ALL-MET ELITE
When Quinn Cook was 13 years old, he joined the D.C. Assault AAU team with another point guard. That’s when he met 14-year-old Tyler Thornton.
The two played on the same team for only a year and a half, but competing in the same program made them fast friends. Not even rivalry games between Cook’s DeMatha High and Thornton’s Gonzaga High shook their friendship.
“A lot of people wouldn’t want to see us hanging out together, but we did anyway, because our friendship went before that,” Cook said. “We had a strong relationship before I got to Duke, and it’s been a blessing to have him here with me.”
Thornton, along with Josh Hairston ( Montrose Christian HS. Rockville MD.), played a role in convincing Cook to come to Duke, attempting to influence him the way Nolan Smith had impacted them. And ever since Cook stepped foot on campus, he has turned to Thornton, whom he describes as his big brother and best friend.
“It’s the constant big brother role he plays. If it’s off-the-court issues, if it’s dorm life, he’s been through everything I’m going through right now,” Cook said. “On the court, if he’s not in the game, he’ll pull me to the side in the first media timeout and tell me what he sees. I’ll ask him in walk-throughs how to defend certain things. It’s just constant help.”
By committing himself to an offseason fitness program at Thornton’s recommendation, Cook put himself in position to be Duke’s primary on-ball defender. That frees Thornton to guard off the ball and allows him to see the floor better, passing along advice to Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon throughout the game.
By helping Cook, Thornton actually hindered his own chances of becoming Duke’s starting point guard. Cook won an open competition between the two, and he has improved significantly as the season has progressed. Cook is averaging 6.2 assists per game (with a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio) and 10.3 points per game. Thornton has become Duke’s sixth man and is the only reserve to average at least 11 minutes. He ranks second on the team in assists (38) and steals (24).
“It’s the constant big brother role he plays. If it’s off-the-court issues, if it’s dorm life, he’s been through everything I’m going through right now,” Cook said. “On the court, if he’s not in the game, he’ll pull me to the side in the first media timeout and tell me what he sees. I’ll ask him in walk-throughs how to defend certain things. It’s just constant help.”
By committing himself to an offseason fitness program at Thornton’s recommendation, Cook put himself in position to be Duke’s primary on-ball defender. That frees Thornton to guard off the ball and allows him to see the floor better, passing along advice to Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon throughout the game.
By helping Cook, Thornton actually hindered his own chances of becoming Duke’s starting point guard. Cook won an open competition between the two, and he has improved significantly as the season has progressed. Cook is averaging 6.2 assists per game (with a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio) and 10.3 points per game. Thornton has become Duke’s sixth man and is the only reserve to average at least 11 minutes. He ranks second on the team in assists (38) and steals (24).
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