Ohio State commitment Daequan Cook led Dayton Dunbar to the Division II state championship on Saturday with a 73-46 romp over Wooster Triway.
Cook had a game-high 23 points and five steals for Dunbar (26-2). The 6-5 senior guard was 8 of 15 from the floor, including just 1 of 7 from 3-point range. He also made 6 of 7 free throws and threw down five dunks.
Previously undefeated Triway (26-1) received 12 points from senior guard Jeff McCartney and 11 points from senior forward Linc Rottman.
Triway actually led 16-14 after one quarter, but a 13-4 second quarter gave Dunbar a 27-20 lead at halftime as Cook made a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
The Titans were able to keep the game close until the fourth quarter when the athletic Dunbar squad pulled away.
“I thought both teams came out a little flat,” Dunbar coach Peter Pullen said. “There were some adjustments we needed to make. Their zone was causing us problems and we weren’t getting enough movement and penetration. We talked at halftime about attacking their zone.”
Triway was also the D-II state runner-up last season – falling to Upper Sandusky 94-86. The Titans were proud of everything they accomplished over the last two years.
“Dayton is a tremendous basketball team,” Triway coach Keith Snoddy said. “They are very athletic and well-coached. Thought they played under control today. We thought maybe we could pressure them and get them to make some bad decisions, but they played well. Daequan Cook is a very good basketball player – and I’m sure that’s an understatement.
“We battled and gave it everything we had. Our kids didn’t quit and played hard. I’m proud of our kids’ effort.”
Junior guard Norris Cole II stepped up with 18 points for Dunbar, 11 over his season average. Also for the Wolverines, Mark Anderson had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Aaron Pogue had 10 points and 12 boards.
“Cole having 18 points was huge,” Snoddy said. “We went into the game thinking we had to make him shoot, and he did. We knew Cook was going to get his points. It was a lot to handle. We just didn’t have enough to match up with them today.”
Rottman, Triway’s leading scorer at 16.7 points per game (just ahead of senior guard Jamie Breneman at 16.6) was asked where he would rate Cook compared to other great players he’s competed against.
“The very top,” he said. “He is a ridiculous athlete. An amazing athlete. That’s all you can say about a guy like that.”
But Cook says his teammates do not get enough credit. Players like Cole, Anderson and Pogue are very good in their own right.
“People haven’t realized that Dunbar basketball is not the Daequan Cook show,” Cook said. “We have other players on the team that can score 14 points a night. It takes the pressure off me. They are excellent role players.”
Pullen believes that team chemistry is what made Dunbar so good this season.
“They all get along,” he said. “They rag each other, but their friendship off the court manifested itself on the court. It was nothing I personally did, it was just their bond together. They are all friends.”
Dunbar assistant coaches and former DHS players Richard “Tu Tu” Brown and Renaldo O’Neal made sure to mention to the current players every day this season just how much a state championship would mean to the school.
Dunbar also captured the D-I state title in 1987. That Wolverine team was also led by a future Ohio State player – point guard Mark Baker.
“Pressure every day,” Cook said. “In practice, they’ll talk about how dusty the banner is and we need a new one. They put that in our mind and we came out and did it.”
Cook hopes to win a lot of big games at “The Schott.” He’s excited to begin his college career in the fall with the Buckeyes.
“It feels good to be here,” Cook said. “I’ve played here three or four times since I committed to Ohio State. I know it’s going to be my home.”
Cook is considered the catalyst of OSU’s excellent recruiting class, ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the country, depending on who you talk to. He was the first domino to fall last summer and talked Greg Oden, Mike Conley and David Lighty into joining him at OSU (Florida junior college standout Othello Hunter is also a part of the class).
“We’re all coming in and we want to do some great things here at Ohio State,” Cook said. “We are great friends off the court and we always talked about playing college ball together. Next year, it’s going to happen.”