NY Times on Lenny Cooke
- Thread starter redken
- Start date
Just a really sad, tragic story. As is sad in the movie A Bronx Tale, there is nothing worse than wasted talent.
beast of the east
Active member
In elite camps, AAU teams, and some high schools all over America, talented basketball players are put on apedestals, and adored by coaches, friends, agents, hangers on. Here's a guy who made so many bad decisions even when he had a teammate's mother trying to help him. Of course, had he been a marginal athlete, its more than likely that Bortner would not have offered to help him. Id like to say that a lot of these kids would benefit from coming from families with two parents looking out for them, but having been through this circuit, so many parents buy into this elite player hoopla that I'm not sure.
I hate to say this, but the best part of the article for me was to find out that the family in Old Tappan, NJ, that took Lenny in, was not the problem, and actually, they were trying to steer him to SJU, before all the crap started for him.
The rest is very sad, I wish he had followed Ms. Bortner's advice.
The rest is very sad, I wish he had followed Ms. Bortner's advice.
montyaloofah
Well-known member
Very sad story. I remember being on cloud 8 thinking he had interest in coming to St. John's, but knew in the back of my mind that he was NBA or bust... Hopefully guys like him, Chris Herren, and Reeves Nelson get together to show the upcoming generation what not to do...
beast of the east
Active member
There are so many exceptional basketball players that honed their skills while given a pass (so to speak) in regards to their academic deficiencies. A Lenny Cooke, whose star burned very brightly is just one of many casualties, but tens of thousands more never even get to a college basketball stage.
When I encounter some of our alumni who have persevered to get a degree years later (Berry and Mullin are two notables), I'm uplifted by their diligence and recognition of the importance of a degree. Of course, those two made a lot of money playing ball and could afford to get a degree after failing to secure one the first time around. Most are not as lucky during their collegiate days. It wouldn't help Cooke, but if NCAA schools were minimally committed to student athletes, they would allow athletes to attend classes for free for 5 years beyond their eligibility in order to attain degrees.