Issue link: https://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1046648
133 I t wasn't going to be a 'just because' reason if Tyler Cook changed his uniform number with the University of Iowa men›s basketball program. When Cook elected to move out of the No. 5 Hawkeye jersey following the 2017-18 season, he drew upon his faith. He chose No. 5 as a freshman because in the Holy Bible, grace represents the No. 5. When Dom Uhl's No. 25 became available, Cook did more research. "Twenty-five is five times five," explained Cook. "I looked it up to see if it had a biblical reference and it is grace multiplied. I prayed on it and talked to my family (and I decided to make the switch). "It doesn't seem like it's that big of a change, but I wanted to represent something bigger than myself. My relationship with God is the No. 1 priority in my life, so I wanted to do that to symbolize growth in myself and my relationship with God." e Hawkeyes are counting on Cook's growth on the basketball court during the 2018-19 season. e St. Louis native returns aer being Iowa's leading scorer (15.3 points) and rebounder (6.8) as a sophomore, while also leading the team with a 56.6 field goal percentage. Cook scored 20-or-more points nine times and posted seven double-doubles to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten honors from coaches and media last season. "You look at his numbers (last year) and you expect them to go up," said Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery. "He expects those numbers to go up. When that happens, we will be a better team. "I think you'll see a confident, physical, and determined competitor. at will be infectious to the rest of the team every time we take the floor." Aer electing to remove his name from the NBA Dra and return to school in May, Cook got a jumpstart on his junior season in August by attending the Nike Basketball Academy — a developmental camp limited to 25 of the nation's best collegiate players. "e only way you can survive and make yourself noticed (at that camp) is to play hard and give it everything you have," said Cook. "e thing I have been thinking about recently is being able to carry that same energy I had there to myself and my team here. "I have been trying to bring that energy every day and trying to help other guys see that as well. Hopefully that can be contagious to our whole group." Cook has been an energizer and crowd-pleaser with his high-flying dunking ability since stepping on campus as a freshman. Ironically, the first time Cook dunked leading into his freshman year of high school, nobody was there as a witness. "I was at a rec center by my house by myself," said Cook. "I hadn't really tried (dunking) many times before, but I went up for it and got it, but nobody saw it or believed me." Cook developed into a consistent dunker following his freshman season at Chaminade Prep, where he went on to become the 38th-best player nationally in the class of 2016. He credits former coach/ trainer Daryl Leonard with instilling a dunk-at-all- cost mindset. "(Coach Leonard) used to get mad at me when I had a chance to dunk and I didn't," Cook said. "At first when you're getting into that stage of being able to dunk consistently, you don't think about it. You just lay it up. "(Leonard) would get on me every time I had a chance and wouldn't dunk. Ever since then, I have been dunk first, layup second." Cook's favorites as a Hawkeye include a dunk over three Illini players at the 2018 Big Ten Tournament, a one-handed slam over Penn State's Shep Garner in Carver-Hawkeye Arena as a freshman, and going behind the back before