Floor general

The University of Montevallo student section showered Malik Cook-Stroupe with a chorus of boos whenever he touched the ball in the first half of his team’s Gulf South Conference opener. 

There didn’t appear to be a specific reason why. 

Perhaps he was targeted due to how frequently he possessed the basketball. As the starting point guard for the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Cook-Stroupe took control often. Or perhaps he drew the students’ ire due to their knowledge of his recent prowess. 

Cook-Stroupe, a redshirt sophomore, entered the Nov. 30 game having scored at least 17 points in three of his past five outings. The early season tear conjured flashbacks to his time at Homewood High School, where he played on the Patriots varsity squad from 2011-15.

Cook-Stroupe credited the sizzling start to his detail-oriented approach. Focusing on the little things has freed up his game.

“You have the basketball five percent of the time,” he said. “I’m trying to get better at the other 95, with like cutting and screening and rebounding. I’ve always been a scorer, so I feel like improving in that part of my game has helped our team a lot.”

Cook-Stroupe tallied more than 1,700 points during his high school career, a mark that no other player has eclipsed since Patriots head coach Tim Shepler arrived at the school more than two decades ago. Shepler called his former standout the “heart and soul” of Homewood’s 2015 state final four team. 

The coach also identified Cook-Stroupe as a catalyst for the Patriots’ 2016 championship run, as a missed foul against him in the closing minutes of the 2015 state semifinal imbued the Patriots returners with a spirit of determination. 

“He was just a quiet, consistent, hard worker in our program,” Shepler said. “He was fun to coach.”

Cook-Stroupe garnered college interest from UAH and Jacksonville State, but he elected to continue his career with the Chargers. As a result, he joined a fraternity of former Homewood players who made UAH their next stop. Three former Patriots from the early 2000s — Will Gardner, Jamie Gardner and David Ivey — also suited up for UAH head coach Lennie Acuff. 

“We felt like Malik was overlooked in high school, and we felt that he’d have a chance to be a good player for us,” Acuff said. “The more we got to know Malik as a person is what really drew us to him. He’s a fantastic young man.”

Cook-Stroupe redshirted during his true freshman season, which proved an initial challenge. He wanted to be on the court, dishing and swishing with his new teammates. Two years later, however, he doesn’t regret the decision. 

Redshirting allowed him extra time to refine his skills and learn the intricacies of the UAH system. The Chargers run a motion offense that can be difficult to grasp. 

“It throws a lot at you at first,” said Cook-Stroupe, a finance major, “so once you just get the hang of doing everything, it’s all about basketball.”

Cook-Stroupe appeared in more than 30 games last winter during his redshirt freshman campaign, as the Chargers captured their second GSC tournament title in three seasons. UAH will attempt to replicate the result this year. 

To do so, it will need Cook-Stroupe to sustain his efficiency. 

“We feel like his best basketball is way down the road,” Acuff said.