The first thing Xavier Cooks did when he arrived home from America was ask his mother what was for dinner.
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Much to the Wollongong basketballer’s delight, his favourite dish was on the menu.
‘‘I love my Mum’s lasagne. She cooked it the first night I got home,’’ Cooks said.
‘‘There’s nothing like home-made food. That’s the difference between college and home. The food at college is just like generic food.’’
Cooks returned to Australia last week and is making the most of the opportunity to catch up with friends and family.
‘‘There’s definitely no place like home,’’ he said.
‘‘I feel comfortable here and everything is familiar. Home’s home.’’
A 203cm forward who is still growing, Cooks made a strong impression in his freshman year with the Winthrop University Eagles and can’t wait for his sophomore season.
The 19-year-old started in 26 of his team’s 32 games, averaging 7.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks for the season. Cooks tallied 14 points and 12 rebounds in the Eagles’ final game of the season, while perhaps his best performance came against Liberty University when he racked up 10 points, seven rebounds, five blocks, three assists and three steals in a 74-61 win.
‘‘Basketball-wise I learned a lot,’’ he said.
‘‘The difference on the court is physicality. Every level you go to, it’s just a different level of physicality and athleticism. America’s a lot more athletic than we are. That was another aspect of my game I had to develop. I can’t really dunk on those people so I had to learn a bit more finesse stuff.
‘‘The coaches and players all had confidence in me and that felt great, and you just get more confidence from playing at different levels. You start to slow down and let the game come to you. Not forcing things is probably the biggest thing that I’ve learnt. Don’t rush, make smart decisions. Slowly but surely I’ve got a little bit better, but I want to keep improving in steps.’’
Cooks is the region’s hottest basketball prospect and hopes to follow his good friend Dante Exum into the NBA.
‘‘Obviously the NBA is a dream for all of us basketball players, but I’m just going to work hard and see how far I can go,’’ he said.
‘‘As soon as the season finished we did individuals every day, working on skill sets like shooting and dribbling. There’s definitely things I can work on over the off-season, making improvements so I can have a bigger impact next year.’’
Cooks, who is about to start a degree in sports management, will head back to his South Carolina-based university in August to prepare for his sophomore season.
