A Star-To-Be: Who Never Was Part 2

On the afternoon that Cooke was preparing dinner for his family, Shopkorn and Josh Safdie made the now-familiar drive trip from Manhattan to Stony Creek, a town of around 200. It was late December, the sounds of televised football providing a daylong soundtrack. Cooke was clearly delighted and energized by the camera as he played with his daughter, prepared the dinner and shared his career perspective with a reporter.

“At first it was difficult,” he said of the years after he stopped playing. “I saw guys I grew up playing with, guys I was better than. I couldn’t watch anything LeBron would do – know what I’m saying? I thought I should have been where he is.”

Cooke never did get to play against James again, or to know him. But he insisted that he never resented his runaway success and dismissed criticism of James’s playoff failures.

“I mean, look at where he is, how much money he makes and where he came from,” he said. Cooke grew quiet, then shook his head. “From where I’m sitting, right here, I wish the only thing they could say about me was that I have no championship ring.”

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