City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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Alvernia men’s basketball coach Mike Miller always envisioned Nigel Cooke running the point for one of his Golden Wolves teams.

The vision just took a few extra years to realize after Cooke’s road map to Alvernia hit some road bumps and took a few detours before he was finally ready.

Five years after graduating from Spring-Ford, Cooke debuted at Alvernia on Tuesday night against Neumann. He finished with 16 points, five assists and five rebounds, helping the Golden Wolves to an impressive 86-79 win and proving that perseverance pays off.

“(Miller) wanted (Nigel) out of high school, but it just didn’t work out,” Cooke’s high school coach Chris Talley said while in the stands on Tuesday. “Over the years, I just kept saying, ‘Be patient.’ … It was worth the wait. Talking to Nigel, he feels it was worth the wait and it was a good fit for him.”

Talley coached Cooke at Spring-Ford, where Cooke averaged 11.8 ppg as a senior in 2015-16, earning first team All-Pioneer Athletic Conference honors. Talley  remembers Cooke locking down eventual Michigan player Eli Brooks in the Spring-Ford program’s first state playoff during that season.

There was always a strong connection to Alvernia for Cooke as his high school coach was a 1,000-point scorer and later an assistant coach for Miller. He needed to figure out his academics prior to playing at the NCAA level, and headed to Montgomery County Community College after high school to do so.

Cooke struggled in his first venture into college and left school. For two years, he worked various jobs like working with his dad, doing DoorDash or delivering for Amazon. The intent was always to save for tuition to give college and college hoops another try.

“My friends, my dad, my mom, my siblings,” Cooke said of his supporters. “They look up to me and what I do. I didn’t want to not look good for them.”

During those two years, Cooke also worked with trainer Bob Koch daily to progress his game. He went to Spring-Ford for runs and played in various leagues and pro-ams in Norristown. 

Matching up with players like former Kutztown standout Anthony Lee, Cooke knew his talent was too good not to be playing college hoops.

Cooke was back at Montco in 2020-21 and again last season, earning his Associate’s Degree during that time. Meanwhile, he displayed his talents on the basketball court as well, averaging 9.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 4.6 apg for a 24-win Mustangs team last season.

“Basketball really helped me just stay in class, go to class, pass all my classes,” Cooke said. “I looked forward to practice every day. That just made me want to come back more and more.”

“He persevered,” Miller said. “We told him, unless you get your grades up, I’m not going to come after you and he had a 3.0 at Montco. He busted his tail. He wasn’t taking something easy. … That showed me right there that he got it together because school was important to him and it showed on the court then too because he also persevered on the court.”

In the stands at almost every Montco home game last season watching Cooke was Miller. The head coach hadn’t given up on the point guard four years after recruiting him in high school.

Cooke said many of the other local Division III programs were interested in him after last season, but Miller’s recruitment stood out.

“It felt good knowing that they still wanted me and I could be a great fit for the team,” Cooke said. “They were at every home game. That showed me they really cared and they wanted me. Other schools didn't, so that's why it was easier to make this decision.”

Miller knew Cooke, who's a junior by eligibility, could fill a big role for the Golden Wolves, who have high aspirations this season as the favorites in the MAC Commonwealth after winning 18 games last season and returning three starters.

One of the most glaring holes to fill was the one left by point guard Keon Taylor (16.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg). Miller felt Cooke, with his age and experience, was the man for the job.

“We knew we needed a point guard and an older point guard, which is tough to get because we felt a freshman couldn’t just go in and fill it,” Miller said. “That worked out perfectly. … He came to a couple games last year, and I said, ‘That’s the spot you’re going to have to take.’”

Cooke is majoring in healthcare science with a minor in sports management at Alvernia. He’s excited to be living on campus after commuting for the past two seasons, helping him dedicate himself even more to his studies and basketball.

He scored his team’s first five points during Tuesday night’s win, not wasting any time to display the impact he might have at Alvernia this season. He finished with 12 points and five assists before halftime, later letting Malik Green (20 points) and Jakob Kelly (18 points) lead the offensive charge.

Cooke played in all but four minutes of Tuesday’s game, highlighting how much Miller values the point guard’s presence on the court. He also knocked down a pair of free throws in the game’s final minute to help put away the win after Neumann’s Jalen Vaughns (24 points) spearheaded a comeback effort.

“I felt comfortable the whole time,” Cooke said. “I felt like I’d been doing it for a long time, where I was just able to step out and do what I do in practice.”

“Different atmosphere, students, preparation, coaching staff. Everything is so different,” he added. “You feel it once you’re on the court. I really liked that and now I’ll look forward to all the other games.”

Cooke’s goal is to one day play professionally overseas. There’s time to focus on that later, however. Cooke has at least two years of eligibility remaining and possibly a third. 

After watching guys like his high school teammate Matt Gnias (Muhlenberg) play out their college careers, Cooke is finally getting his chance.

Those who have been in his corner over the course of his high school and college career know just how hard he’s worked for it.

“It wasn’t the traditional path, but he’s here, he cashed in and he’s got a coach who believes in him,” Talley said. “This is a talented team. It wasn’t like a shoo in. They’re returning a lot of players to their lineup. He didn’t care. He just knew he needed an opportunity.”