Still recovering, Cook waiting for good news

Mike Cook, a guard/forward on the Pitt men’s basketball team, is still awaiting a decision… Mike Cook, a guard/forward on the Pitt men’s basketball team, is still awaiting a decision from the NCAA regarding his request for a sixth year of eligibility.

Cook, who tore the ACL and medial and lateral menisci in his left knee Dec. 20 against Duke at Madison Square Garden, sat out one year after transferring to Pitt from East Carolina in 2005.

He said that while he’s waiting for the decision from the NCAA, he’s doing rehabilitation work and hoping for the best.

“I’ve just been lifting, light jogging and shooting,” said Cook, who turned 24 this past spring.

“I can’t really do too much conditioning right now.”

Cook said he didn’t think it would take a full year to heal the injury, but he couldn’t pinpoint a time when he’d be back to full-strength.

“It’s all up to the doctor and how hard I work,” said Cook.

Although it’s not common, the NCAA has given extra years of eligibility to some players in the past. Last season, it granted a sixth year to Pitt women’s basketball player Mallorie Winn after she suffered a season-ending knee injury before her senior year.

Cook said he hopes to find out the same news Winn received.

“I thought I’d find out about two weeks ago, so we’ll see what happens,” said Cook.

Cook averaged 10.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11 games before his injury. He scored in double-figures six games in a row leading into the game against Duke.