ORANGE & BLUE NEWS TO ROLL OUT TOP 25 ILLINI OF ALL TIME
PREVIEW | 1-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25
Over the next couple of months leading up to March Madness, Orange and Blue News is counting down our top 25 Fighting Illini basketball players of all time.
From the Whiz Kids to the Flyin' Illini and beyond, we break down the iconic players to come through the University of Illinois.
Overall, our list includes three first-team consensus All-Americans, seven members of the Wooden Award All-American team, and three national players of the year. Two from our top 25 won the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard.
We get started with No's 21-25, led by high scoring combo forward Brian Cook, who starred for the Illini from 1999-2003.
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21. BRIAN COOK (1999-2003)
Brian Cook signed with Illinois out of Lincoln High school, where he was named Mr. Basketball in the State of Illinois and was a McDonalds's All-American after averaging 21.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 2.0 steals and 1.8 assists per game as a senior. Cook was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016.
In four seasons at Illinois, Cook averaged 13.2 points per game and is currently the No. 5 career scorer in program history with 1,748 points. He's seventh on the all-time rebound list with 815. As a senior in 2003, he was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and the Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball Winner. He was also selected third team AP All-American.
