The Quinn-tessential Leader

Duke has seen many sides of point guard Quinn Cook through the years, from fiery freshmen to dejected junior. But this year, the Blue Devils will rely on a new mentality from the team’s lone senior: Captain Cook.

“It’s a blessing,” Cook said of his title. “That’s the first word that comes to my mind. It’s an honor. All the great players and people who were blessed with the opportunity to be a captain of the team. It’s exciting, because you’re known by your leadership, and great teams aren’t good without leaders.”

From Nolan Smith to Tyler Thornton, Cook has revered the Duke captains he’s come into contact with since becoming a part of the program. Before his sophomore season even began, the confident Cook revealed that he was ready to be a leader for his teammates, but the guard suffered a setback on his quest for captaincy last season when Rodney Hood and Josh Hairston were given the honor and Cook was left out.

So, Cook refocused his energy this summer in order to join the ranks of Blue Devil captains. Cook stayed in Durham for both summer sessions, working on his shooting, eating right, putting on more muscle and increasing his speed and vertical jump. In short, he did everything the coaching staff asked of him and more after last season’s disappointing finish.

The most important part of Cook’s captaincy will be his ability to integrate a highly-touted crop of freshmen into the fold. Duke’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class—Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow and Grayson Allen—has the talent to immediately contribute for the Blue Devils, but needs to be shown the ropes first.

And that’s where Cook comes in.

“I know for me, when I first got down, every day after a workout or even on an off day [Cook] would call me in to do some extra running and things like that,” Okafor said. “A couple nights, late [at] night we went up to the K Center and did some pick and roll stuff and things like that, just me and him one-on-one.”

Although coaching up a rising star at a different position like Okafor may be easy for Cook, the harder task could have been accepting Jones, the top-rated point guard in the Class of 2014. As the incumbent starter, Cook could have taken a disliking to Jones. Instead, the two have bonded like brothers.

“Everybody on Twitter or Instagram wanted to make it a competition,” Cook said. “We knew that coming into the situation, so that kind of brings people closer together; when his name is always mentioned with my name and things like that. We looked at it totally the opposite—we want to play together. I want to help him; I didn’t come into the situation thinking ‘Oh no, this point guard’s coming into the picture, I’m in trouble’. It was ‘This is the top point guard coming in; how can he help my game, and how can I help his game?’”

What can make a player be so willing to accept the new guy poised to take his job? The answer is simple—the prospect of winning a title. Cook came onto campus as part of a five-person recruiting class, but will be leaving by himself. Austin Rivers made the leap to the NBA after one season in Durham, Marshall Plumlee redshirted his freshman year and will presumably be back with the team next season, and both Michael Gbinije and Alex Murphy transferred to Syracuse and Florida, respectively.

Despite some strong showings—his Battle 4 Atlantis MVP trophy stands out most prominently—Cook’s Duke career has been defined by inconsistency. Instead of another roller-coaster season, Cook hopes his Duke legacy will ultimately be a championship. Associate head coach Jeff Capel made sure Cook knew during the summer that he still had something left to prove in his final year in Durham.

“If you go out in that gym, if you go out in Cameron, the only banners that hang are championship banners,” Capel said. “Whether that’s ACC, regular season or tournament or getting to a Final Four. Quinn doesn’t have one, and that’s what he needs to do. That’s how you’re remembered here.”

And so here stands Captain Cook, poised to begin his last season in Durham, doing whatever it takes to bring a title to Duke. As Cook himself astutely pointed out, the two-point-guard lineup has worked well in the recent past with Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier, Napier and Ryan Boatright, Peyton Siva and Russ Smith, and, of course, Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer. Regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench, the refocused Cook will be ready to rise to the occasion.

And cement his legacy with a banner.