Even though I cover the German leagues very closely and down to a T, I do like observing other leagues to see what Americans are doing and sometimes even come across a hidden gem. That happened in November 2020 when I checked eurobasket.com the bible for basketball world wide and looked what was up in Austria. Austria has been an up and coming league for sometime and a breeding ground for unproven Americans looking to put up massive stats coupled with hopefully winning so they can make the jump up to a higher league. I came across versatile scoring point guard Stanley Whittaker who had a chip on his shoulder so heavy at that time that it must have felt like 2 Shaq’s were dancing on him.. He had balled in JUCO and the NAIA and had had an up and down rookie season in Lithuania. He came to Austria with pressure and just did work dominating the league. I saw his progress in November, interviewed him and gave him some press. 38 interviews later, one could say the rest is history. After that I continued to follow his explosive season giving him another interview and spreading his exposure once more. His play and press helped him land in Germany in the Pro A with PS Karlsruhe where he helped the team reach the playoffs and he established himself as a top 3 Pro A guard. That season we did a weekly Q&A session which surely coupled with his outstanding play opened up eyes in many new markets including top 5 league easyCredit BBL where the Wurzburg Baskets snapped him up. He made another step in his game putting up massive stats and was regarded as a top 5 point BBL guard and just missed making the playoffs. After a little more than 2,5 years after our first interview, 37 followed and now the question will be, can he make another step forward up the basketball ladder. Now let’s fast forward to May 2023. I was at it again hounding eurobasket.com and had my new Stanely Whittaker in Austria by the name of Zach Cooks (175-PG, college: Hofstra). Like Whittaker, he dominated the league and helped his team reach the playoffs. The only difference was that he had played 5 seasons in the NCAA. I’m not the only one that follows other leagues, but when Germany is your neighbor, it’s only logical to see what is going on there. ‘Yes, I followed the German BBL as I have a few friends who play in that league. I definitely would like to play there one day and hopefully soon. It is a great league with great clubs and players. I have definitely heard of Stanley Whittaker. He worked his way up to get to the German league. I am super hungry to do the same thing and climb the ladder. Graz helped me get that started this year and I cannot wait to see where I could possibly go next. I appreciate your willingness to help promote me’, stressed Zach Cooks. Could Zach Cooks follow Stanley Whittaker from Austria to Germany and become an impact player?
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Stanley Whittaker before he was a household name in Germany in pre season Sept 2021 when he was with Pro A team PS Karlsruhe
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Stanley Whittaker as a top guard in the easyCredit BBL in May 2023
Zach Cooks who lists explosive Atlanta Hawk guard Trey Young as his toughest cover in the NCAA was born March 4th, 1999 in Lawrenceville, Georgia and grew up in Lilburn. He began his basketball career at Norcross High Scholl and then played his last 2 years at Berkmar high school where he led the team to the Sweet 16. He then set out on a NCAA career and played at the New Jersey Institute of Technology from 2017-2021 playing a total of 113 games. He had a solid freshman year averaging 8.6ppg, 2.2rpg, 2.0apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 46.8%, 3PT: 44.4%, FT: 73.2%. He already showed signs of being a scoring guard scoring in double figures in 11 games. His game really took off in his second season that carried to the end as he averaged 17.6ppg, 4.8rpg, 2.1apg, 2.5spg, FGP: 53.0%, 3PT: 34.9%, FT: 73.2% and in his junior year exploded for 19.7ppg, 5.2rpg, 2.2apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 46.0%, 3PT: 30.5%, FT: 77.8% and as a senior averaged 17.1ppg, 4.9rpg, 1.5apg, 2.2spg, FGP: 44.7%, 3PT: 33.7%, FT: 71.8%. ‘ I would describe my game as being a consistent all around player for 4 years. I came in as a freshman playing my role, then took that summer to work hard, get stronger and faster and become the player I was for the rest of my time at NJIT’, stated Zach Cooks. He had many incredible games in his 4 years including netting 35 points against Binghampton or 34 points against Quinnopiac, but it isn’t always the best scoring games that remains most in a player’s heart. ‘ I had a lot of good memorable games at NJIT but my fondest game would have to be the playoff game at FGCU on my birthday in 2018 where we made history of advancing to the semi-finals of the ASUN tournament’, added Zach Cooks
In his last 3 years the American who has Lebron as his GOAT and feels the sequel to the classic Coming To America could have been saved scored in double figures in 73 of 84 games, scored 20 points or more 41 times and 30 points or more 4 times. He put in a lot of work in the lab to develop into the player he is now and knows that head coach Brian Kennedy deserves a lot of credit in grooming and preparing him best for a professional career. ‘Brian Kennedy was so important for my 4 years at NJIT. He helped me become stronger and smarter throughout the years. He let me be myself on and off the court which ultimately gave me the confidence to be successful on the court. I have to also give a shout-out to my assistant coaches, especially coach Jeff Rafferty who was instrumental in recruiting and supporting me’, warned Zach Cooks. Instead of turning pro in 2021, he took advantage of an extra year of eligibility and suited up for Hofstra (NCAA). He had a solid season averaging playing 26 games and averaging 12.2ppg, 2.4rpg, 3.0apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 47.6%, 3PT: 28.6%, FT: 75.0%. and played for ex NBA guard Speedy Claxton. ‘It was a good experience playing for him, he had previous knowledge of playing many years professionally. The advice he gave me that was most important was to always stay humble and hungry2, explained Zach Cooks. He scored in double figures 16 times including a 29 point explosion against Duquesne and 26 points against Houston. In his 5 years in the NCAA he picked up A-Sun All-Freshman Team -2018, All-A-Sun Second Team -2019, 20, NABC Division I All-District 3 Second Team -2020, All-AEC Third Team -2021, NABC Division I All-District 1 Second Team -2021, and All-CAA Sixth Man of the Year -2022.
The American who lists Al Durham, Jordan Goldwire, San-Antonio Brinson, Abdul Lewis, and Connor Heyward as his 5 best teammates of all-time turned professional in 2022 and signed with UBSC Raiffeisen Graz. Currently he is in Las Vegas, Nevada training and getting ready for his second professional season. He helped lead his team to the playoffs and will never forget his rookie season. ‘I appreciated the simple fact of having an opportunity to play professionally l in Europe. I did not know my rookie season would go as well as it did but I am blessed and thankful for the opportunity Graz gave me. They management, fans, and players were all great’, remembered Zach Cooks. In the first round playoff series against Vienna, he was swept despite averaging 21/3/6 stats. ‘Vienna had a great team with much experience throughout their roster. We were close in both games but we just did not make the shots in the 4th quarter that would have gotten us over the hump’, said Zach Cooks. He had an incredible rookie season playing 35 games leading the league in scoring 23.2ppg, 4.1rpg, 4.2apg, Steals-1 (2.3spg), FGP: 50.9%, 3PT: 36.7%, FT: 80.2%. Like so many guys his size, he plays with enormous fire in his belly as getting that 180cm label will probably always accompany him where ever he goes. ‘I have always played with a chip on my shoulder knowing that people think I am too small to do things such as lead a league in scoring. It fuels me to continue to work hard and play hard every game to prove my doubters wrong’, warned Zach Cooks. He was fortunate to have another potent American scorer with Issac Vann on his side that often made life easier for him on the court. ‘Issac was very vital for me and the team. He was my backcourt mate who helped me out a lot with scoring, handling the ball, defending, and just being the other go-to guy for us’, stated Zach Cooks. He scored in double figures in all 35 games including 20 points or more 26 times and 30 points or more 4. His highest scoring games were against St Poelten, Furstenfeld, Timberwolves and Kapfenberg. He also registered 3 double doubles. ‘My most memorable game was my first professional game at Graz against St. Polten. I was very excited to play my first professional game and it was a good first game. We won at home and I had 28 points’, added Zach Cooks.
The Georgia native who names LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, and Kobe Bryant on his NBA Mount Rushmore is a 180cm point guard that plays like Russell Westbrook and who compares his game to top NBA guys Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. He can fill the stat sheet at ease and simply has the total package. ‘ I am a leader, I can pass the ball for my teammates to score, I can defend, I can rebound and I can affect the game in many different ways. I am a competitor who just wants to win’, warned Zach Cooks. He had the ball in his hands a lot in the NCAA but never averaged more than 2 assists per game while in Austria he was able to elevate it to 4 per game. He has proved his whole career that he is a scoring machine, but could he become more of a playmaker at the pro level and average 5-6 assists per game? ‘ I would credit coach Ervin & coach Dimitris for putting me at the point guard position to be the primary point guard. I was always the shooting guard in college which ultimately my role was to only score. I was able to get assists in Graz being the point guard. I can definitely imagine myself averaging 5-6 assist. With me being the primary point guard, I will have the opportunity to get my teammates more involved while also still looking to score. I love getting my teammates open shots for them to score’, stressed Zach Cooks. He worked hard on his three pointer and shot 36% in his rookie season which was his best since his freshman season. ‘I shot 40% throughout the whole season at Graz until the last 2-3 games. I was shooting more contested shots than the easy open ones. I need to just find ways to get better open shots so I can be 40%’, commented Zach Cooks. But he also has proved to be a scrappy and aggressive defender and wants to continue to make steps. ‘I am a good defender on and off the ball. I want to be a better more physical defender as it will help at the next level’, expressed Zach Cooks. It will be interesting to see where Zach Cooks will play next? He definitely is ready for helping any team anywhere. ‘I bring a competitive and winning mentality and I’m willing to do anything that will help my team win games’, warned Zach Cooks. This guy could play in so many different type of leagues and countries, but personally I would love to see him land in Germany in 2023-2024. Maybe one season of grooming in the pro A in Germany like Stanley Whittaker did or perhaps an easyCredit BBL team will give him a shot. At any rate I’m excited to see where the basketball journey of Zach Cooks will go next.
German Hoops 