Five-Star Forward Marquis "Mookie" Cook Re-Commits to Oregon Ducks

Dana Altman has secured two five-star recruits in the 2023 class this month.

2023 five-star forward Marquis "Mookie" Cook has re-committed to the Oregon Ducks.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by “Mookie” (@marquiscookk)

Cook is a six-foot-seven, 200-pound small forward at Compass Prep High School in Chandler, Arizona. He currently ranks as the fourth-best recruit in the class of 2023 according to 247 Sports, and the top recruit in Arizona. Cook is now the second-highest recruit to commit to Oregon behind only Bol Bol in 2018.

It's the second time Cook has pledged to the Ducks after initially committing back in March. But on June 29, Cook backed off of his verbal commitment and re-opened his recruitment.

At the time of his de-commitment, Cook explained in an Instagram post that "during this time I will weigh other options in addition to the University of Oregon." And while those other options were rumored to be blue-blood college basketball schools like Kentucky and Gonzaga, it was Oregon who won the Cook sweepstakes in the end.

As far as why Cook chose to come back to Coach Dana Altman and the Ducks, there are a few good answers.

First and foremost, Cook is an Oregonian at heart. Cook is originally from Portland, and played his first years of high school basketball there at Jefferson High School. Oregon is the closest to home out of any school competing for Cook's commitment.

READ MORE: Isaah Crocker excited by wide receiver depth, vertical passing attack in 2022

Secondly, but perhaps more importantly, the Ducks recently added some more talent to their 2023 recruiting class. Just ten days ago, Altman secured the commitment of another five-star forward in Kwame Evans Jr. 

Evans hails from the famed Monteverde Academy in Florida, a school that has produced a handful of NBA stars like Ben Simmons and D'Angelo Russell. Evans currently sits at No. 7 overall in the 2023 recruiting rankings. 

After Evans' commitment, it became clear that Oregon really did have a chance to bring Cook back into the fold. Oregon now has three commits in the 2023 class: Cook, Evans, and in-state four-star point guard Jackson Shelstad.

The Ducks now own the sixth-best basketball recruiting class in the country-- a whooping 20 spots ahead of the next best Pac-12 team in Stanford.

Cook is a huge get for the Oregon program both on and off the court. On the court, Cook is an ultra-athletic scorer with the build of a modern-day NBA wing. Off the court, Cook has been casted to play a young version of LeBron James in an upcoming film about James' upbringing called "Shooting Stars."

While on-court performance is the most important, it's good for the Ducks to bring some notoriety to the team. Cook's mix of talent and fame will fill up the stands in Eugene -- and it certainly isn't a bad look for the Ducks in the midst of conference realignment chaos.

Altman has once again started to assemble his roster in his own unique way, blending veterans and young stars together in a way only he can. The squad deep in the woods is looking dangerous. 

Join the Community

Follow Graham on Twitter: @grahammetzker

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter to have the latest Oregon Ducks news sent directly to your inbox

Join the discussion on our forums HERE