Confident, Healthy X Happy in Purple with Gus by His Side

Written for nbl.com.au by Chris Pike

Xavier Cooks always pictured himself being a key piece of the Illawarra Hawks-Sydney Kings rivalry growing up in Wollongong and while he's on the other side than he envisioned, he's glad to have Angus Glover alongside him and for the pair to be back fully healthy.

Both Cooks and Glover are Wollongong locals who went to Holy Spirit College together dreaming of one day representing the Illawarra Hawks as teammates with one of the biggest rivalries naturally being with the Sydney Kings.

And now heading into Saturday's hotly anticipated match up between the NSW rivals at Qudos Bank Arena in Round 2 of #NBL22, the pair will be out there on the floor key members of their side – the only difference is they will be in purple of the Sydney Kings trying to beat their hometown Hawks.

However, in the bigger picture, it's hard not to feel a sense of happiness to see both players back out on the floor. Glover is making a dazzling return from a third knee reconstruction, while it's been a tough couple of years too for Cooks.

Dating back to when he was selected for the FIBA World Cup team in 2019 but had to withdraw with a knee injury which also saw him ultimately leave French club SIG Strasbourg around the same time.

He ended up joining the Kings for the 2019/20 NBL season and then was feeling great as pre-season action started coming into #NBL21, but then he hurt his foot and head a delayed start to the campaign.

However, he has done a full, and long, pre-season coming into #NBL22, he made a strong start in last Sunday's win over Melbourne United and is feeling as confident with his body and game than he has in a long time.

"It's just good to have a full pre-season under my belt. I did get that last season but then got injured in the first game of the pre-season," Cooks said.

"It's just good to be able to play basketball for a long stretch of time so you can build your confidence up, and work out what works well for you and all that sort of stuff. I'm just having fun out there, man, that's the main thing. That's the way I played basketball as a child to have fun and I'm still doing that now. 

"It has been a rough couple of years but that's the nature of the game. Sometimes you get injured and those are the cards I was dealt. How I'm going to deal with it and bounce back from those things is what matters, and now hopefully I can have a good season, stay healthy and win some games for the Kings."

A lot of the confidence Cooks is feeling in his game right now stems from what new coach Chase Buford is providing the playing group. 

Having a coach who trusts you to go out there and make the right decisions as a player rather than forcing you to play a structured style is exactly the type of fun basketball Cooks grew up playing in Wollongong, and he feels that’s the system he thrives in now as a professional too.

"He has been great. He's a young coach and brings that young energy to training with him. I remember the first couple of days he was here he was running up and down the court with us, and it's just little things like that goes a long way when you have a young team like ours," he said.

"I think it's fun to play his style too. He gives freedom to all the players and everyone can go out there and make plays. I personally don’t love playing in systems where you play robotic, you pick-and-roll and go to the dunk and that sort of stuff. 

"Chase gives us freedom to make plays and that gives you confidence, and there's nothing like playing basketball in confidence. You can always see people thrive when they have confidence and that's what he gives us."

As for the Hawks-Kings rivalry that Cooks grew up dreaming of being part of only with an Illawarra singlet on, he isn't too sure how much of the tit for tat between owners and management spills onto the playing group, but he does know there's tension in the air coming into Saturday's clash.

That's more from the fact that both the Hawks and Kings have high expectations of what they can achieve this season, and it's a chance to make a statement at Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday.

"It is pretty crazy but that's just the way the game goes. Basketball is a business at the end of the day and growing up I was always a big Hawks supporter and thought I'd be going against the Kings, but I've switched sides and now I'm a Kings man so it is what it is," Cooks said.

"There is definitely a lot of tension between the owners and management, and them guys, and I do feel like the rivalry between us and the Hawks, especially as a Wollongong boy and I'm sure Gus feels the same way, is real. 

"But at the same time, us at the Kings have seven new players this season who don’t really understand the rivalry, but we all have a lot of respect for the Illawarra Hawks. They're a really good team and when you play a strong team just like when we play Perth or Melbourne or South East Melbourne, you really build up for it. 

"You can feel the tension and you get excited about it, and I think a lot of the players are just excited for a good battle between two good teams more than worrying about the history of the rivalry, or what our management is saying about each other."

Having grown up together, attended high school together and played on all the representative teams together as teenagers, Cooks and Glover had plenty of time to think about one day being part of this Kings-Hawks rivalry.

While they are now on the Kings side of things, Cooks couldn’t be happier to have Glover by his side and to now see him not only having returned from his third ruptured ACL, but to be doing so in such fine style and looking so good physically.

"I'm not sure the word for it, but it's a real wholesome feeling to see Gus back out there. I remember last year when I had my injury and he also had his knee injury, and we were doing our rehabs together and we were there for each other," Cooks said.

"I'm just happy for him now. He had a great pre-season, he had a good game to start the season and I don’t think the NBL has seen what Gus is capable of yet. He is an explosive player, a ridiculously good shooter and he's got all the tools in his toolbox. 

"I'm excited for him to see what he can show this season and obviously by him playing well he helps us win games. He's a great defender as well and all the little things he does for us as a team, he just helps us in so many ways and whatever he is asked to go and do, he does it with all his effort and heart. That's why I love Gus."

The Kings made a winning start to the 2021/22 NBL season with a win over Melbourne United last Sunday on the back of a dominant three quarters. 

They did allow United back into the game to give them a sniff late, which for Cooks he believes gives them plenty to work on now moving forward as they strive to find that consistently solid 40 minutes of basketball.

"It was a really good first three quarters, I'll tell you that much. It came a little bit too close in the fourth quarter and their pressure got to us a bit, and we turned the ball over a little bit too much. But it was just good to play at home in front of our fans and it was fun to play basketball again. I really loved it," Cooks said.

"It would have been good to have played another pre-season game against Wollongong there in Wollongong, that would have been great, but I don’t think that we were underprepared. We had done a great job of working hard every day since all of the Americans and everyone else first got here in Sydney. 

"We're yet to put together a full 40 minutes of good basketball in my opinion. We showed really good glimpses against South East Melbourne after starting off really rough in the pre-season, and then against Melbourne at the Blitz it was the same sort of thing. We came out aggressive and then let them back again. 

"The same against New Zealand too, we were up 16-nil and let them win that one. We're yet to play a fully great 40 minutes so far but we're a young team and are still learning to play with each other. I think it's all uphill from here."

While there are plenty of new faces at the Kings this season, Cooks is delighted they were able to bring back Jarell Martin and he's also looking forward to the continued development of the younger members while they grow as a unit with the connection with all of the new players.

"It is great having Jarell back this season and the other guys who are back like some of the younger guys. One of the best things about our team is our depth," he said.

"We've got Jordie out right now and DJ is out, but we're still looking like a good team so I think it's all uphill from here. That comes from the chemistry which comes out of the culture stuff we do from the coaches to Toby the team manager and all of that sort of stuff. 

"It's not just the basketball aspect, it's a lot of the off-court stuff which brings us closer together and we enjoy playing together, but also being together. Our team genuinely loves playing together which is always obvious in any team when you're out there."

Playing in front of 8632 people again last Sunday at Qudos Bank Arena was a real reminder of how much Cooks and his Kings teammates have missed those home fans. 

He can't wait to see potentially an even bigger crowd there against the Hawks on Saturday which is a stark reminder of not too long ago what it was like playing in front of nobody including harking back to that Grand Final Series with the Perth Wildcats to decide the 2020 championship.

"There's no better feeling than running out of that tunnel and seeing all our Kings supporters out there," Cooks said.

"We have some of the best fans in the league and hopefully we can put on a good show for them. We're a bit undermanned but I'm really excited to play out there again. It's great playing in front of a lot of people again and I'm excited for it.

"I didn’t play too many games without a crowd last season but I did play in the Grand Final the year before and that was really weird. The championship was on the line and you build up all year for this climax and then you get to the stadium and hear the shoes squeaking and people trash talking on the court. 

"It was definitely weird experience and it felt like a closed door scrimmage. Once you start to think about, it's still a basketball game and sometimes in a game you try to get in your zone and tune the fans out especially on the road and in Perth than anywhere. 

"So it was kind of nice being in Perth and not having people from the crowd talking trash to us the whole time. It was an interesting experience and it's something I'll put in my journal and look back on in a couple of years with how strange it was, but I'm glad we are back in front of big crowds now."