Nebraska joins mix for 2016 juco

Connors (Okla.) State power forward Arlando Cook had never even held a conversation with Nebraska head coach Tim Miles prior to the Mullen's Junior College Top 100 Camp in St. Louis last weekend.

Shortly after an impressive performance at the elite juco event, in which he helped his team win the tournament championship, Cook got his first phone call from Miles, who extended an NU offer to the 6-foot-9, 215-pound sophomore.

Though the Huskers are among the newest additions to his offer list, Cook said he's been learning more and more about what Nebraska's program is all about.

"I've mainly been talking with the head coach, Coach Miles," Cook told HuskerOnline.com. "He saw me at the Top 100 Camp in St. Louis, and I had a good showing there and he liked how I played, so he offered me. He's actually got a relationship with my junior college coach also. Anytime you have a high-major Big Ten offer, it's always a good feeling."

A native of St. Louis who played his high school ball at Madison (Mo.) Prep, Cook averaged 11.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last season as a freshman at Connors State. His strong first season and continued success this summer at juco recruiting events has helped him accumulate an impressive offer list thus far

Along with Nebraska, schools like Iowa State, LSU, Ole Miss and Memphis have been in regular contact, and he also holds offers Arkansas, Kansas State, Nevada and Houston. Others showing interest include Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Saint Louis and East Carolina.

Cook, who describes himself as a versatile "high-motor" player who can play inside and out, said he plans to start narrowing down his list of schools at the beginning of the fall semester next month, but he is definitely in no hurry to make a decision. In fact, Cook said he doesn't plan to start taking his official visits until after his sophomore season at Connors State wraps up in the spring.

"I was going to take them in the fall, but I decided to hold off on that and take them in the spring," Cook said. I just didn't want to rush it."

As for what he's looking for in his future school, Cook said he's pretty open, but has some specific criteria in mind. However, location is not among those factors.

"A school that can help me develop as a man on the court and off the court," Cook said. "I have no problem with being far away from home. My junior college is in Oklahoma, so I have no problem with going somewhere."

Cook may have just started learning about Nebraska, but it didn't take long for him to become very intrigued with the opportunity that could await him in Lincoln. Enough to where he said NU was already a legitimate contender for his services at this point.

"They actually really are," Cook said. "They're a great program and they're in the Big Ten, so that's a big deal. They play against the best competition every night, and that's what I'm looking for… They've sent me several things about the school and the program, and I plan on researching them more later on when I start narrowing down my schools.

"I've watched Nebraska play a lot, but I haven't actually sat down and really watched them, you know what I'm saying? So I'm definitely going to look into them more now that I've got an offer from them."