About a week ago, one of Dayton’s star players, Charles Cooke, announced he will enter his name into consideration for the 2016 NBA Draft. While this might scare a lot of Flyer fans, Cooke is not hiring an agent. With the new rules in place Cooke has until May 25th to withdraw his name. According to Archie Miller, Cooke is taking advantage of the new rules in order to find out where he stands, seeking to fulfill his dream of playing in the NBA. While Miller is supporting Cooke’s decision, one can be sure that the Flyer’s head coach would love to see Charles return for his senior season.
In his first year playing for Dayton after transferring from James Madison, Cooke quickly proved himself invaluable to the team. He led the Flyer’s in scoring, averaging 15.6 PPG. He also finished second on the team in rebounds behind senior forward Dyshawn Pierre with 5.8 per game. Cooke shot 40% from behind the arc which also led the team. Factor in his great defensive presence and Cooke is arguably the Flyer’s best player. If he ends up leaving for the NBA, Dayton’s 2016-17 team would certainly take a hit. As a talented True Team, however, the Flyers can find a way to keep on winning.
Whether or not Cooke could make and stay on a NBA roster this year is highly debatable. He definitely has the capability, but it seems like one more year in college might help grow his potential chances. Rumors about beef between Cooke and Dayton’s starting point guard Scoochie Smith put Flyer fans on edge. While it’s difficult to tell anything on the court, there has been speculation about off the court issues between the two. Hopefully this gets resolved and Cooke entering his name into draft consideration has nothing to do with it. Coming off making the All-Atlantic 10 first team, Cooke looks to be in prime position to compete for A-10 Player of the Year assuming he withdraws his name and returns for the 2016 season.
