Play With Heart
After two minor league seasons in the ABA and CBA, former Hartford Hawks star Aaron Cook has developed into a true point guard. Will it be enough to fulfill his NBA dream?

Sam PERKINS
for SZ.

Waltham, Mass - While his personal basketball Odyssey seems to be continuing in Poland this year, Aaron Cook twice turned down big money overseas to play in the dimly-lit half-empty aging arenas and high school gyms of the American minor leagues.

Cook had a dream that put money on the back burner. His drive for the NBA could be heard in the echoes of leather smacking against hardwood around a dimly lit gym, long after his workout partners and trainer had left for the night.

There stood Cook shooting, alone with his dream. “Ever since I can remember, all I’ve wanted to do is play in the NBA” says Cook in his Baltimore accent, which turns “do’s” into “dew’s” and “two’s” into “tew’s.” He graduated from the University of Hartford in 2006 as the school’s all-time leading three-point shooter, having made 276 in his career. Cook could flat-out shoot the basketball, but he did not do much else in College, and six-foot shooters from small conferences are not exactly hot commodities. Without a job, without an agent, and with his stock in little demand, Cook found himself shuttling across the country, from tryout camp to tryout camp, from Virginia to Las Vegas and back. “It was a whirlwind, I didn’t understand anything as far as agents are concerned,” said Cook “I just went into it blindfolded.” An agent approached him to play in Germany for big money. Aaron originally accepted, then changed his mind.

“I go off of my gut and it didn’t feel right,” acknowledges Cook.

For all its advantages, including better pay, competition, and fan support, the opportunity to...

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