Boys Basketball: Jack-of-all-trades Cook gives New Trier a boost

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Glenview, 01/27/12 New Trier's Reid Berman spots up for the jump shot during their game against Glenbrook South Jan. 27. | Curtis Lehmkuhl~Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 3, 2012 8:24AM

New Trier has found a main source of scoring in Austin Angel and Connor Boehm this season, but one Trevian has figured out different ways to help his team gain an upper hand.

Junior guard Steven Cook does all of the little things in a supporting role with No. 6-ranked New Trier, and his scrappiness has head coach Scott Fricke feeling reluctant to take him off of the court.

“He just does so many good things on the court,” Fricke said. “It’s hard to have him sit next to me. He blocks shots, he plays good defense and he took a huge charge (in Friday night’s 60-54 win over Glenbrook South), and then he knocked down a big three.”

Cook’s timely plays make him a valuable asset for Fricke to have on the court at all times. But Cook doesn’t believe he excels in any specific aspect of the game.

“I feel like I can do a lot of things for our team,” said Cook. “There’s not one thing that you can say I really specialize in. I certainly do a lot of scrapping for the team, but I just do whatever is asked of me — from the guards, from Coach and from the team as a whole.”

During the win over GBS, Cook finished with 15 points. He also was usually in the right place to give the Trevians a second chance, nabbing eight rebounds.

“Overlooking everything else, we didn’t even talk about rebounding,” Fricke said. “He had some big rebounds (Friday night). He’s a big part of our team.”

Despite being outrebounded, New Trier (18-2, 7-0 CSL) outlasted Glenbrook South for the conference win in Glenview.

“I don’t think we played particularly well,” Fricke said. “I was really happy with the amount of assists we had. We shared the ball, and I thought we got some pretty good opportunities.”

The Trevians held a 32-30 halftime lead, with Boehm contributing 11 points.

New Trier exited the first quarter with a 16-12 advantage, but the Titans exploded in the second period. GBS reeled off 12 unanswered points for a 24-18 lead, with big buckets coming from senior guard Jamie Nikitas and junior guard Justin Busiel.

Down by six, the Trevians went back to Boehm, who helped his team pull ahead with a few minutes remaining in the opening half.

In the third quarter, Cook scored nine points to give his team a 48-38 lead.

“We can really develop from this game,” Cook said. “We can learn a lot by watching film and seeing plenty of mistakes — and I didn’t think we played as a team (Friday night), but I think we can grow more as a team based on how we played.”

GBS cut the deficit to four points in the final period, and with an extra effort from guards Reid Berman, a junior, and sophomore Jordan Thomas, the Trevians held on for the win.

“We never allowed it to be a one-possession game, and we always had some control, but (GBS) played hard,” Fricke said. “The one thing I’m not happy about is they outrebounded us, and that’s something we’ve been doing a really good job on this year. That could have been the difference in the game.”

Boehm led all scorers with 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Angel tallied 10 points and two boards for New Trier.

The Trevians will look to stay perfect in conference play when they host Waukegan at 7:30 p.m. Friday.