Cicero-North Syracuse star looks to create her own path
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (BVM) — Heading into her final basketball season at Cicero-North Syracuse High School (C-NS), senior Jessica Cook has already left a lasting impression at the program.
Helping lead the Northstars to a sectional title this past season, Cook has come a long way since her first season on the Northstars’ varsity squad in the eighth grade.
“In eighth grade I was very immature, I didn’t understand my role on the team,” Cook said. “I kind of just was going with the flow, trying to see where I was supposed to fit. I think in the ninth grade, I kind of understood what I was, but I wasn’t in the best shape. I didn’t understand what I was doing. Right around 10th grade, and I’ve heard this from a lot of people, my mentality changed and I knew basketball was not just a sport or a hobby, [basketball] was going to get me places and I knew there was a way to make it a job, while also loving what I was doing. In 10th grade, I became a little more mature with it.
“I understood that if I put this amount of work in, I’m going to get much more results and I knew if I kept putting more work in and loved what I was doing, it was just going to equal a greater result in the end. I think 10th grade was right around when I understood that and started understanding that I could be a leader, as well as a player.”
The hard work would pay off as Cook averaged 20.8 points per game and 12.6 rebounds in her junior season, helping lead the Northstars to a 17-6 record. Along with the career year, Cook would go on to break the 1,000-point mark, a goal she had in her mind from an early point.
“That moment was extremely special because I knew that was my goal,” Cook said. “When I was a young kid on varsity, I think my total for that season was 150 points and I only played half the season. My dad and I sat down and we’re like, ‘what do you want to achieve on varsity?’ When I watched a few other players grow up through the program, I saw they hit that goal and I was like that’s something I would really love to do. So from the beginning of my varsity experience I knew I wanted to hit my 1,000 points and hitting that milestone was really special, especially because I had tons of family there and it was in front of a big audience and I think it was against my rival school. It was a really nice moment.”
The junior’s special season would continue as the Northstars would go on to win the Class AA sectional championship. Cook finished with 20 points and earned MVP honors for her effort against Baldwinsville in the title game.
Already one the best players in school history, Cook is used to hearing her name brought up with C-NS alum and basketball star, Breanna Stewart. Although she appreciates the recognition, Cook wants to carve out her own path through basketball.
“It’s a really cool thing to be in that group of names like Breanna Stewart, Beth Mowins, Amani Free and then like me,” Cook said when asked about replicating Breanna Stewart’s success at the program. “It’s really nice to be in that group and part of that great player circle, but I don’t think I want to be like [Breanna] in the fact that she did her thing and I want to do my thing. I do know over the years I’ve been compared to her, but I think I want to be my own person and I obviously have my own goals.
“She is this next-level, high-quality person, player, all-around great athlete. I think I wanted to emulate her dedication and her talent, but I didn’t want to emulate how she got there, and her success, and who she was. I wanted to be myself and I like that I broke away and wasn’t exactly her. I definitely know that I have been compared to her and a lot of people say, ‘are you the next Breanna Stewart?’ I don’t love hearing that, but it does tell me that people notice me and I’m doing a good thing in my program.”
Part of Cook’s current and future path in basketball is playing at the next level. After receiving many Division I offers, the C-NS star decided on a program she wasn’t totally expecting, Toledo.
“For a long time I had had my eye on another school in Ohio and I thought I was dead-set there,” Cook said. “When one of the coaches from a school that I had been previously talking to [Assistant Coach Mark Stephens] moved to Toledo, he told me to come visit. He wanted me to come and see what it’s about, but I went in there hoping I wouldn’t like it as sad as that is to say. But I stepped on campus and I felt really at home…. I love the school, I love the atmosphere.
“I left there and I told my mom, ‘dang it, I really didn’t want to like this place,’ but it ended up being where I knew I wanted to go for months and then I guess a lot of my teammates were committing and it wasn’t really rushing me, but it just made me feel like something could happen and I didn’t want to lose that place. My coach told me, ‘if every offer were to disappear, which one would you be the most upset about,’ and I knew it was Toledo for the longest time and I think that was the next day I committed, I just felt ready.”
With an unexpected end to her season due to COVID-19, Cook’s mindset has changed heading into her final year. The C-NS senior has many goals heading into her final season, like hitting 2,000 career points and making the first-team All-CNY. With many challenges facing high school sports, Cook looks forward to just getting back out there with her teammates again.
“Senior year is going to feel like it’s going to go by in the blink of an eye, especially because I know that at the end of it, I get to go to the college that I’ve chosen,” Cook said. “It’s an interesting feeling knowing that nothing is guaranteed, and nothing is ever guaranteed, but this year’s really solidified that belief that like, if you don’t give everything in every game, you never know when it’s going to be your last.
“We walked off our court for sectional championships… and that Thursday we got the call and we were done and nobody knew that was the end of it. So, I guess I’m just playing every game like it’s my last because at this point it could be.”
