Tyler Cook to Iowa: Hawkeyes Land 4-Star PF Prospect

Tyler Cook is a talented power forward who could have gone to a number of established basketball powers, but the Missouri native elected to stay in the Midwest and join the Iowa Hawkeyes. 

He announced his intentions on Twitter on Wednesday:

"

ITS A GREAT DAY TO BE A HAWKEYE‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/e6tG7vjukz

— Tyler Cook (@KingCook_25) September 24, 2015"

Jeff Borzello of ESPN confirmed the news.

The 6’8”, 240-pound Cook is a 4-star prospect in the class of 2016, per 247Sports’ composite rankings. He checks in as the No. 2 overall prospect from the state of Missouri and the No. 74 overall player in his class.

He chose the Hawkeyes over the likes of Florida, Missouri and Arkansas, but he also received interest from Kansas and Illinois, among others.

Cook commented on his decision, per Brian Snow of Scout.com: “Yes sir I am an Iowa Hawkeye. I just loved everything about the school. I have had the longest relationship with them. They have recruited me for two-and-a-half years, and the visit really was confirmation that it was the right place to me so I committed tonight."

Derek Young of Scout.com noted Cook was the top target for coach Fran McCaffery in the 2016 recruiting class and the type of player Iowa needs to compete against the best Big Ten teams and at a national level for deep NCAA tournament runs.   

Cook will likely see the floor right away for the Hawkeyes as an athletic force on the blocks. He is a strong finisher at the rim—fans will be treated to plenty of rim-rattling dunks during his collegiate career—but also has enough touch to finish outside the paint.

What's more, Cook’s size and strength will help him control the glass on both ends of the floor.

Cook joins Cordell Pemsl, Jordan Bohannon and Ryan Kriener in Iowa’s 2016 class. The other three prospects are all 3-star recruits, per 247Sports’ composite rankings, and will form a solid core of contributors around Cook.

Pemsl checks in at 6’7” and Kriener at 6’9”, so it was clear Iowa was trying to add power and size in this recruiting cycle to compete with the physicality of perennial Big Ten powers such as Michigan State and Wisconsin. Bohannon is the point guard who will be tasked with getting the ball to the talented forwards as they develop together.

As long as Bohannon finds Cook, Iowa should remain competitive in the Big Ten.