What was beginning to shape up into becoming a very formidable 2015 recruiting class for Bob Huggins’ West Virginia program has just taken a significant hit with former commit Levi Cook announcing via Twitter that he will reopen his recruitment.
Reopening my recruitment . pic.twitter.com/M7Mbyc2yHM
— Levi Cook (@Lcoook44) September 25, 2014
According to ESPN, Cook is listed as a 4-star center with a massive 6’9”, 305-pound frame. The only other offer Cook has received has come from Marshall, although he has drawn interest from other notables such as Florida, Oklahoma and UCLA.
This certainly isn’t good news by any means for coach Huggins and the Mountaineer faithful. But there is a silver lining amongst this move by Cook. As you can see in the tweet, Cook acknowledges that West Virginia is still a “viable option” and states he is looking forward to the recruitment process during his senior season.
This should leave plenty of optimism around the possibility of Cook returning to West Virginia, especially considering the only other pending offer comes from a Marshall program that most could be considered as below that talent standard of WVU.
On the other hand, there’s definitely bigger fish in the sea if Cook could earn a scholarship offer from Florida, Oklahoma or UCLA, which is likely the reason Cook reopened his recruitment with the hopes of garnering more attention and options from more prominent programs.
For the current 2015 class being one that is looking like it will be rich in skill and deprived in interior size, this becomes a decommitment that could ultimately turn what could be a very solid freshman class into one that lacks that key recruit to push them over the edge.
The pressure is now on Huggins to reaffirm his dedication and desire for Cook’s services in Morgantown and this is a recruit Huggins will dread letting slip through his hands.