NBA Draft: Duke’s Quinn Cook has inside look at Jahlil Okafor’s affection for Lakers

The enthusiasm seemed infectious as Duke center Jahlil Okafor flashed a wide smile and gushed endless about possibly wearing a Lakers uniform.

But the platitudes went beyond Okafor paying his respects to a storied franchise or expressing gratitude for working out for a NBA lottery team. Duke senior guard Quinn Cook saw Okafors’ affection for the Lakers up close after rooming together last season with the Blue Devils. Then, Cook said he “forced” Okafor to watch plenty of games on television featuring the purple and gold.

“He’s a Laker and knows a lot about the Lakers,” Quinn said of Okafor after working out with the Lakers on Monday at their practice facility in El Segundo. “He’s ready to go. Hopefully he falls to No. 2.”

Cook argued, “If I had the No. 1 pick, I would take Jahlil,” before praising his role in helping Duke win a national championship because of his post presence, passing and jump shooting. But Cook has no influence on the Minnesota Timberwolves’ front office. Instead, Cook jokingly praised his influence Okafor falling in love with the Lakers and deciding to train in Santa Barbara between draft workouts.

“I take all the credit for that,” Cook said. “Him, his father and his aunt, I’m right there for his love for the Lakers. He’s ready.”

Cook said he is ready as well, hopeful that the Lakers select him with the 27th and 34th pick after averaging 11 points on 43.2 percent shooting, 37.5 percent from 3-point range and 3.6 assists through four seasons at Duke. Cook called the Lakers “the best organization,” for both their 16 NBA championships and featuring his favorite NBA player, Kobe Bryant.

“I just remember him struggling at first,” Cook said of Bryant when he entered the NBA straight out of high school in 1996. “He came into the league and it was his show and he had to work playing with Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones. Then he took over with Shaq, winning three, going through a rough patch and then winning two more. It’s a winning tradition.”

Cook knew Bryant’s career trajectory fairly well partly because Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who coached the Lakers star with the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball teams in Beijing (2008) and London (2012).

“He knew how much I loved Kobe and how much I really loved the Lakers. I always joked with him that he should have taken the job back then,” Cook said of Krzyzewski, whom the Lakers pursued following Phil Jackson’s first departure in 2004. “But me and him have a great relationship. He has always shown me messages between him and Kobe.”

Krzyzewski also introduced Cook to Bryant last year when the Lakers visited Miami, though Cook said he had already met Bryant on earlier occasions.

“He remembered me. I was excited about that,” Cook said. “Everybody was sending me pictures of him at our game because everyone knows how much I love the Lakers.”

Hence, Cook said he’s “in heaven” after working out with the Lakers and constantly sending his mother photos wearing his favorite team’s jersey. The same could be said about Okafor should the Lakers use their coveted No. 2 pick to select him in the NBA Draft on June 25.

If he ran the Minnesota Timberwolves’ front office, Cook argued he would.

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