Cook Determined to Write Her Own Ending

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball player Mardrekia Cook knew her gut feeling was not good. Last February, Cook was practicing when she felt a sharp pain in her right leg and foot, and she immediately thought something was wrong - again.

She had already torn her right ACL during her sophomore season and resumed her collegiate career after surgery and months of rehab.

This time, this pain indicated the injury was more serious: Cook tore her Achilles tendon.

Time for more surgery. Time for more rehab for an injury that can take a year to heal.

Yet another time to try to come back one more time to basketball.

Cook, now in the final stages of rehab before the upcoming season, admits she had no idea how tough the journey to play in her senior season would be.

"My Achilles injury, I was in more pain mentally," Cook said. "I found it harder to recover more mentally than physically."

Cook underwent surgery to repair her torn Achilles on Feb. 3. Then came the challenges off the court and understanding that she was quite hurt.

"I'm a very resilient person, but it took me longer to come around after my injury," said Cook.

Cook had to rely on others, something she is not used to doing. She wanted to stay independent and live like everything was normal. Except, it clearly wasn't, since she was hobbling on crutches.

"She really wanted to do things on her own; she didn't want to be treated like a baby. I maybe grabbed her a few things here and there, but she wanted to do it all on her own," said junior point guard Nia Clouden, who is also Cook's roommate.

Clouden had a front row seat to Cook's recovery, watching her struggles in person. It wasn't easy to see Cook, who is normally a fun person to be around, sometimes slide into a dark place.

"My roommate, Nia Clouden, was there. She is just the best, the best teammate, roommate and best friend I could have asked for," said Cook.

Clouden would get Cook out of her room and interact in the living room. They would watch film on their games together. The goal was to keep Cook engaged, while she couldn't travel with the team. There was one thing that Cook needed during her recovery: her teammates and friends.

"My goal was to keep her engaged, keep her in a good head-space, not letting her get to a bad place she shouldn't be. Stay focused on the positive, focused on basketball," Clouden said.

Cook appreciates the love and care from Clouden and the rest of the Spartans, as she knows they all played a role in her ongoing recovery.

"That was a time where I needed someone, I needed my teammates," said Cook.

It was a complete role reversal for Cook. She needed a person to pick her back up after falling down.

"I had my teammates, but at the moment, I don't know what the future looked like," said Cook.

Two weeks after her surgery, Cook was allowed to rejoin the Spartans and travel to West Lafayette for the game against Purdue on Feb. 20.

"It helped me get out of the house and be around people I love," said Cook.

The traveling and the season did not last much longer for Cook and the Spartans. Michigan State lost to Purdue in the first round of the BIG Ten Tournament on March 5. MSU was looking to reach the NCAA Tournament. The fate of their season was determined by COVID-19, as the NCAA Tournament was canceled.

The pandemic presented new challenges for Cook in her recovery. She had previously spent her recovery on campus, but due to COVID restrictions, her rehab had to be moved. Cook waited until May to start getting treatment at a Sports Medicine rehab facility in Lansing.

"It was nice to meet new people, they gave me new exercises to use and really helped me with my recovery. It did have some difficulties though, they didn't really know me the way our athletic trainers know me," said Cook.

In June, Cook started rehabbing with team athletic trainers again at the Breslin Center. An Achilles injury takes about a year to fully recover, but Cook was ahead of schedule. Her return date was estimated to be around late January or early February depending on her recovery. When team athletic trainers started working with Cook, they noticed she was much further along in the recovery process. A December return was now possible. The athletic trainer gave her the go-ahead for on court activity immediately.

Cook wanted to improve her shooting from beyond the arc, after already improving in previous seasons. Cook had only attempted less than one 3-pointer per game in her sophomore season, but after her ACL injury she started to focus more on that part of her game. In the next two seasons, Cook began to take more threes. Last season, she attempted more than one trey per game.

"I'm working on my jumper, to take the load of my knee. That way I won't be so one dimensional with my driving," said Cook.

Still, Cook needs to battle the fear that she could get injured again.

"Every day, I try not to think about my Achilles because you can be scared to do certain moves. You have to come in thinking this could be your last day," said Cook.

Clouden and MSU head coach Suzy Merchant both agree that she looks great in practice.

"She has looked really good for someone coming off that kind of injury. Looks great movement wise, you couldn't tell she tore her Achilles," said Clouden.

Merchant has the chance to break down all her players' strengths and weaknesses in a more intimate way, as only five to six players are allowed on the floor to maintain COVID-19 safety protocols.

"Cook has always been one the best drivers on the team. She has the ability to post up on smaller defenders and to blow by people from the wing. By adding the three to her game, it gives us the ability to space the floor and make defenders respect her 3-point shot, giving her the ability to better drive to the basket," said Merchant.

Cook's biggest impact may be her legacy as a teammate and a person who would never stay down.

"The biggest thing I've learned from her is resilience, get people's attention and to speak up when you see that things can get better. A lot of people are having a hard time right now and I think her resilience can help everyone, not just herself and our teammates," said Clouden.

Players Mentioned

Nia Clouden

Mardrekia Cook

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