Jalen Cook came out of high school as a four-star recruit from Walker, Louisiana. He committed to Will Wade's LSU Tigers squad in June of 2019, but in his freshman season, Cook saw just 7.5 minutes per game, averaging 3.1 points in 20 games played. Clearly, he was frustrated with his lack of playing time at LSU, because after the 2019-2020 season, Cook transferred down the road to Tulane.

With the Green Wave, Cook became one of the best scorers in the country. As a sophomore, Cook averaged 18 points and 3.5 assists per game on 42.9-percent shooting from the field. As a junior, Cook saw his numbers take another leap, scoring 19.9 points per game and dishing out 4.9 assists per game.

After Tulane failed to make the NCAA Tournament in both seasons, Cook decided to hit the portal for the second time in his career and came back to Louisiana State University. The move was big for Matt McMahon and his squad. After a very bad first season, McMahon and company brought in a big transfer portal class that included Jalen Cook, Will Baker and Jordan Wright. Nobody thought the Tigers could truly make some noise in the SEC, but they looked set to steadily improve from last season.

That feeling quickly changed when the NCAA denied Jalen Cook's waiver for immediate eligibility after transferring for the second time in his career. It was a heartbreaker for LSU fans, McMahon, and most of all, Jalen Cook.

When his waiver was denied just days before the regular season opener, McMahon and LSU sent more information to the NCAA in hopes of them reversing their decision, but no more news came on the subject until Wednesday night.

A judge in West Virginia got a restraining order on the NCAA for 14 days which allowed all multi-transfers to play immediately during that span, but just one day later, the NCAA announced that if the decision was reversed, all multi-transfers who played during that time would lose a season of eligibility. Hope of Cook playing seemed lost, but then just a couple days later, it was ruled that all multi-transfers were deemed eligible for the remainder of the season.

Finally, after 10 games, Cook was able to take the floor as a Tiger for the first time since 2020. In his debut, Cook struggled from the field, scoring 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting, and while it might not have been the debut Tiger fans have been waiting for, but I still think he elevate this offense.

His play on Saturday may have given Tiger fans flashbacks to early season Jordan Wright, don't expect his shooting woes to last much longer. In his career, Cook shoots an average of 44-percent from the field and 37-percent from three, so I fully expect him to get his numbers back up very soon.

Obviously, Cook can offer a lot as a scorer, but you could make a case for his playmaking ability being his biggest attribute for this team. As a team, the Tigers are averaging 10.5 assist per game which ranks in the bottom of the nation. McMahon has talked about the teams need to get their assist numbers up, especially with their turnover problems, and in Cooks first game, he dished out six assists to just one turnover.

Even with is six assists, there were multiple passes he made that led to shots or fouls that don't show up on the box sheet. In the first few minutes of the court, he had one pass through two defenders that led to a Derek Fountain and-one and a couple possessions later, he made virtually the same pass to Hunter Dean which led to a foul and two free throws.

The Tigers have been missing a point guard who can really facilitate this offense, and Cook is that guy. That was evident as LSU had one of their best offensive games of the season. They scored 85 points, shot 46-percent from the field and 44-percent from three in the loss.

While I don't know if Cook has the ability to completely turn this team around, because that's a lot to ask of one player, he certainly has the ability to improve this team drastically.

When he's on the court, the Tigers are a much better team. If he, Wright and Baker can play consistently well, this team is capable of pulling some upsets. It's just a matter of gelling and playing consistent for 40 minutes, which they haven't been able to do so far.