Wollongong has been part of Cooks' life since he arrived in 1997 as a player. He moved to the bench after 119 games, taking on the role as an assistant coach to Brendan Joyce in 2000. He will be the club's last coach.

"I know myself, Matty (Campbell) and Sav have been here for more than a decade, so this is like family for us," Cooks said.

"We know all the sponsors by name.

"We are talking about 2000 people (who turn up for games) but they are 2000 family to us.

"So we'll disappointed for them when we close the doors."

Cooks believes the future of basketball in Wollongong will be compromised by the Hawks' demise.

"There are a lot of kids who come and watch the Hawks games," he said.

"It is important for them to come and watch the Matty Campbells and Glen Savilles compete against the best in the nation."

The end didn't come as a surprise to anyone closely connected to the Hawks but Cooks has the job of focusing his players for the final three games after their dreams were crushed on Monday.

"We were always hoping we were going to survive," he said.

"It was like hammer coming down on us (on Monday)."

Cooks promised the Hawks will fight to the end on the court against New Zealand, Adelaide and Gold Coast.

"At the end of the day we are professionals and it is important we go out and act like professionals," Cooks said.