Career
Cooke himself had other options for basketball: North Carolina, Seton Hall, St. John's, Miami and Ohio State. However, Cooke chose to declare himself eligible for the 2002 NBA Draft, though he went undrafted. When all 29 of the NBA teams passed on Cooke in both rounds, he would turn to joining the Rucker Park Summer League in New York, playing for the Terror Squad team.
Later that same year, he was drafted by the Columbus Riverdragons of the NBDL. Additionally, Lenny tried out for the Brevard Blue Ducks of the USBL in April 2003. Next, he was signed to the Brooklyn Kings in May, also within the USBL. In 15 games, he averaged 28.8 points and more than nine rebounds per game.
Later that year, Lenny was back to the Rucker Park Summer League. Then, he found himself playing in the Philippine Basketball Association for the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs. In addition, Cooke was signed with the Shanghai Dongfang Sharks in December 2003. Lenny averaged 16.7 points and a near seven rebounds per game. By 2004, he had returned to the PBA's Purefoods team but suffered his second injury with the team in the season opener and was out for the rest of the tournament. After not being drafted to the NBA, via age limit, he continued to work out. Cooke most recently played for the Minot Skyrockets of the CBA in 2006-07.
Read more about this topic: Lenny Cooke
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