When he was younger, Andrew Cook got plenty of doses of what others might call "reality checks."
At a Division I basketball, they told him, wasn't where he would end up.
"When I would let people know that was my goal, some people, it's just like, not like they were trying to be mean about it," Cook said, "but they wanted me to be realistic with what I was trying to do."
In the short-term, those people ended up being right: After graduating from Servite High School in Anaheim, California, Cook went to Carroll College in Helena, Montana, an NAIA program.
But after three dominant years at Carroll, this year Cook is getting his chance at D-I basketball - and he's doing a whole lot with it this season at Eastern Washington.
"When I got this opportunity, it was my chance to prove everybody wrong," Cook said.
His performance Saturday at Reese Court in Eastern's 107-63 victory over Division II Lincoln (California) was right on par with what he's done the last couple months: 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting, plus five assists while playing a team-high 28 minutes.
Through 12 games, Cook leads the 3-9 Eagles in minutes (31 per game), field-goal percentage (58.3), free-throw percentage (90.2) and scoring (17.2 points per game), transitioning from NAIA to Division I seemingly without much trouble.
Granted, there are times when the difference shows up. Ryan Lundgren, EWU's associate head coach who was at Carroll last season with Cook, said there have been moments in every game so far where Cook has tried to get a shot off and had it blocked, a shot that in NAIA would likely reach the rim.
But overall, Cook has ably found room against Division I players so far this season.
"His competitive nature, his drive and his experience, those things I just knew would translate to this level," Lundgren said. "If you had asked me if he was going to be the leading scorer, I didn't anticipate that. But his ability to compete in practice and in games has really set the tone for the younger guys."
Leaving Carroll wasn't necessarily part of the plan for Lundgren or for Cook. They had a good thing going in Helena: Cook led the Frontier League in scoring last season (20.5 points per game), winning league player of the year honors and a First-Team All-America selection.
"Carroll was great, and it was a hard place for me to leave," said Cook, who played 81 games over three seasons for the Fighting Saints. "But I felt like it was too good of an opportunity to say no to, and I've been very happy with the choice so far."
Lundgren came to Eastern first, joining Dan Monson's staff in May. He said he wasn't looking to leave Carroll - he spent just one season in Helena - but he, too, couldn't pass up the chance.
"When you take new jobs, you've got to work for the right people, and that was the ultimate sticking point for me," Lundgren said. "I've known Dan (Monson) for 15 years, and I know the quality coach he is, but I also know the quality human being he is. He has empowered me in so many ways in the role I am in."
Once he joined the Eagles, Cook immediately became one of the team's most experienced players. Aside from redshirt junior Nic McClain, all six returners from last year's Big Sky regular season champion roster were freshmen.
Pavlo Dziuba, another transfer, had played four seasons of college basketball but didn't have the game experience Cook had. Neither did other transfers such as juniors Angelo Winkel or Elijah Thomas. Ditto for Tyler Powell, who came from Nevada (and before that, Seton Hall).
The only player on the roster who can match Cook's game experience is actually another NAIA transfer, Sam Stockton, who averaged 16.6 minutes in 107 career games at Lewis Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.
"(Cook and Stockton) are the guys that have the most experience at the college level," Monson said earlier this month. "You can say it's NAIA, but college basketball is college basketball, and I think if the portal has shown you anything it's that the level isn't the key. It's the experience. Cook is just a guy that you can rely on. Like Sam, he's dependable, very dependable in his decisions. Very dependable in his shot selection."
"Those two," Monson said, "have been great stabilizers for this program."
Both seniors, this will likely be the only season in Cheney for both Cook and Stockton. But if the Eagles are to compete again this year in the Big Sky portion of the season, which starts Jan. 2 against Montana, the duo will most certainly be a major reason.
"The more you play, the more you'll learn," Cook said, "and that's been my whole goal with this team is just to be that steady force."