BIO: Eric Cooks was born in Indiana (USA) and went to on play college basketball for St. Mary’s College in California before relocating to Australia to pursue a professional career in the South East Australian Basketball League (CBA/SEABL). Cooks was known as the Leroy Loggins of the CBA in his time in the league due to his winning ways and slender build, similar to Leroy (who was only 100 kg at 201 cm in height).

FAMILY: Eric is the father of both Dom Cooks (11 NBL games) and Xavier Cooks (162 NBL games).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Eric Cooks made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks at 34 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.

After another season missing out on the NBL playoffs in 1996, the Hawks were unable to retain their scoring and rebounding leader Marcus Timmons (to Melbourne), who would end up helping the Tigers win the championship, while Andre LaFleur (not re-signed), Greg Hubbard (retired) and long-time captain Chuck Harmison (retired) also left the playing roster. Harmison moved into the Hawks’ front office as general manager, while Matt Zauner, Terry Johnson, Glen Saville, Mat Campbell, Dene MacDonald and Marc Brandon returned under head coach Brendan Joyce, with Zauner named captain. The Hawks added Lachlan Armfield (via Newcastle), Jason Brettell, young imports Bryan Edwards and Clayton Ritter and SEABL stalwart Eric Cooks (via Ballarat), who had previously played under Joyce and alongside Saville and Campbell with the Ballarat Miners. Cooks had played more than 500 games for Ballarat, won SEABL MVP honours in 1989 and 1990 and been part of multiple championship teams before Joyce brought him into the NBL, with former Miners official Ron Foley later saying “we struck gold with Eric Cooks.”

Cooks made his NBL debut at Beaton Park on April 12, finishing with 2 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist as Illawarra opened the season with a 112-96 loss to Newcastle. Ritter (25 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks) and Johnson (23 points and 2 steals) led the Hawks, while David Simmons (22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) was Newcastle’s best.

Cooks (8.9 points and 6.5 rebounds across 29 games) would play primarily off the bench during his debut NBL season, averaging 28.7 minutes while shooting 49 percent from the field. He appeared in 29 of Illawarra’s 30 games, with his only absence coming through suspension rather than injury after an incident involving Townsville’s Shane Froling. Saville later described it as “Cookie delivering an elbow”, while Cooks recalled, “I’d known Shane for years; we’re friends … we were both surprised it resulted in a suspension.”

Cooks produced his first double-double of the season against Canberra at Beaton Park on April 26, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals while shooting 5-of-8 from the field as the Hawks lost 117-98. Edwards (26 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Ritter (20 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals) provided the other major contributions, while Robert Rose (29 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals) led Canberra.

Cooks’ best scoring game came at Beaton Park on May 23, where Cooks (24 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) shot 10-of-17 from the field as Illawarra fell 119-107 to Adelaide. Ritter (23 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals) and Edwards (18 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) added support, while Leon Trimmingham (24 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block) led the 36ers.

Cooks (11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals) produced one of his strongest defensive games against North Melbourne on June 5, playing more than 46 minutes as the Hawks lost 104-90. Edwards (27 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals) and Zauner (20 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) led Illawarra, while Mike Mitchell (20 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals) was North Melbourne’s best.

Edwards (18.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.5 steals across 13 games) produced strong individual numbers but was not the fit Joyce needed at point guard and was replaced midway through the season by Dylan Rigdon (19.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists across 15 games).

Ritter (23.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals) led Illawarra in scoring, produced two games with more than 40 points and won the Hawks’ team MVP award, while Saville (13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.6 steals) more than doubled his scoring from the previous season and earned selection for the NBL All-Star Game. Zauner (12.9 points and 7.5 rebounds), Johnson (9.4 points and 3.4 rebounds) and Campbell (8.7 points) provided the remaining support, although a contract dispute between Zauner and Joyce created further problems during the season.

Illawarra missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season and finished 11th with a 7-23 record, closing the year at Beaton Park on September 27 with a 115-90 win over Brisbane.

1998
After finishing 11th with a 7-23 record in 1997 and missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season, the Hawks entered 1998 with Brendan Joyce remaining as head coach. Dylan Rigdon and Terry Johnson (to Newcastle) departed, while Clayton Ritter, Eric Cooks, Mat Campbell, Matt Zauner and Glen Saville returned. Joyce signed defensive-minded import guard Elliot Hatcher and added Cameron Dickinson (via Sydney), Mark Dalton (via Brisbane), Justin Withers (via Sydney) and Matthew Oyston. The 1998 campaign was the NBL’s final winter season and the Hawks’ final season at Beaton Park’s Snakepit, with the club moving to WIN Entertainment Centre when the league shifted to a summer schedule for 1998/99.

The Hawks opened the season against North Melbourne at Beaton Park on January 30, where Cooks (7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block) contributed inside as Illawarra won 109-96. Saville (28 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks) and Ritter (25 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block) led the Hawks, while Pat Reidy (21 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists) was North Melbourne’s best.

Cooks (11.9 points and 7.2 rebounds across 32 games) increased his production from 8.9 points and 6.5 rebounds the previous season and appeared in all 30 regular-season games and both elimination finals. Playing alongside Ritter and Hatcher, he gave Illawarra another experienced interior rebounder and scorer as the Hawks made a significant improvement from the previous year.

On April 3, Cooks (19 points, 10 rebounds, and 1 steal) recorded a double-double as Illawarra defeated Newcastle 102-94 at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre. Ritter (31 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Hatcher (25 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal) led the Hawks offensively, while Ben Melmeth (22 points and 18 rebounds) was Newcastle’s best.

Cooks produced his best and highest-scoring game of the season against Sydney at Beaton Park on April 12, making 11-of-14 field goals and finishing with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block. Hatcher (27 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block) and Ritter (15 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists) provided support, while Evers Burns (23 points, 12 rebounds, and 1 block) led Sydney as the Kings won 106-98.

Illawarra closed its regular-season home schedule against Townsville on May 31 in the final regular-season game played at the Snakepit. Cooks (15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal) made 6-of-8 field goals as Hatcher (27 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals) and Campbell (19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) led the Hawks to a 109-97 victory, while Derek Rucker (37 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists) was Townsville’s best.

Ritter (24.6 points and 8.1 rebounds across 32 games) was named captain, led Wollongong in scoring and rebounding, won the club MVP award and earned All-NBL Second Team honours. Hatcher (19.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.7 steals across 32 games) finished second on the team in scoring and led the Hawks in steals, while Campbell (12.6 points across 32 games) provided another double-figure scorer. Saville (10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.5 steals across 32 games) finished second on the team in rebounding, with Dickinson (6.4 points across 31 games) and Dalton (5 points and 3.2 rebounds across 24 games) providing further support. Illawarra doubled its win total from seven to 14, finished sixth with a 14-16 record and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

The elimination finals opened against Perth at Beaton Park, where Cooks (16 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 assist) made 8-of-13 field goals. Campbell (27 points and 5 rebounds) and Saville (11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks) provided the other major contributions, while Scott Fisher (37 points) and Todd Lichti (18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) led Perth to a 95-85 victory in the final NBL game played at the Snakepit.

Game two moved to Challenge Stadium, where Cooks (8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block) played almost 35 minutes. Hatcher (34 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals) and Ritter (17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals) led Wollongong, while Scott Fisher (21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists), Todd Lichti (21 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) and Ricky Grace (17 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals) led Perth to a 120-97 victory, completing the sweep and eliminating the Hawks in the first round.

1998/99
The published 1998/99 Wollongong Hawks team roster listed Eric Cooks as a centre. The roster also named Cameron Dickinson, Jason Brettell, Matthew Oyston, Glen Saville, David Andersen, Eric Cooks, C.J. Bruton, Theron Wilson, Mat Campbell, Mark Dalton and Clayton Ritter.

Brendan Joyce was Wollongong’s head coach.

Wollongong finished the 1998/99 regular season with 16 wins and 10 losses and reached the semifinals. Brendan Joyce shared the NBL Coach of the Year award, C.J. Bruton won the Most Improved Player award and earned All-NBL Second Team honours, while Glen Saville ranked third in NBL steals with 2.1 per game. Bruton also won Wollongong’s team MVP award.

During the 1998/99 season the Hawks continued to improve for a third year in a row. The team recruited CJ Bruton from the Brisbane Bullets to become their starting point guard, alongside imports Clayton Ritter and Theron Wilson and a talented rookie by the name of David Andersen.

There, Bruton (20.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists) would be given the ‘green light’ on offence as he jumped from 15.4 points to 20.8 points per game while playing the most amount of game time (46 minutes per game) of his seventeen season career.

The Hawks finished the season winning two more games than the year prior, improving upon their previous record for the third year in a row and finished in third place with a record of 16-10.

Cooks contributed 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in a season where they won two more games than the year before and finished in third place with a record of 16-10.

During the post season the Hawks first lost to the Victoria Titans in two straight games in the Qualifying Finals but were the recipients of the ‘lucky loser’ rule where the highest placed loser of the top four team’s qualified for the semi finals. The Hawks faced the Adelaide 36ers next, who also defeated them in two straight games in the semifinals and delivered a end to their season.

1999/00
During the 1999/00 season Cooks averaged 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds, and helped Hawks finish the year in eighth place finish with a record of 11-17.

Eric Cooks played four seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Wollongong Hawks and the Illawarra Hawks. He averaged 7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 119 NBL games.