We reported last month that Alderson Broaddus Head Coach Greg Zimmerman worked hard to land Zanesville, Ohio product Malik Bocook. Zimmerman has two seniors to replace from last season's team as wing player Ali Bilal and post player Tobias Dowdell have graduated from ABU. Zimmerman started recruiting Bocook back in December of this past basketball season in hopes of landing his talents. We recently caught up with Malik to get his thoughts on his senior year of basketball at Zanesville High School, the recruiting process by AB and his expectations when he arrives in Philippi.
Malik talked a little bit about how the recruiting process worked. "AB first started recruiting me around December. Ever since then, the coaching staff at AB was my first choice", stated Bocook. It was in December that Malik was just starting what he described to us as "a great senior year". Zanesville High School finished the season with a 19-6 record. Bocook helped his team by averaging 19.5 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game. For his hard work and contributions, Bocook was named to the 1st-team AP Ohio HS Eastern All-District Basketball Team. He was also named to the second team AP All-Ohio All-State basketball team. He stated the coaching staff at AB projects him as a small or power forward. Video of Malik shows that he is a very versatile player. He is athletic and can take a defender off the dribble. He has the ability to run off a screen, catch, square and hit the outside jumper. His athleticism allows him to guard and defend several different positions on the floor. Video also shows tremendous jumping ability and athleticism around the basket.
Bocook gave a lot of credit to his high school coach. "I had one of the best coaches in the state in Scott Aronhalt". Coach Aronhalt stated earlier that Bocook had other offers on the table. Malik said other notable schools showing interest were West Liberty, Wheeling Jesuit and Ohio Dominican. But in the end, what helped lead Malik to Alderson Broaddus? Bocook stated: "the number one thing that really got me was how much Coach Zimm and the coaching staff care about the players". Bocook says he wants to major in criminal justice while at ABU. "I want to be a federal special agent", stated Bocook.
We also asked Malik about what it was like to play for current Zanesville assistant coach and former West Liberty All-American Cedric Harris. Many Battler fans may remember the play of Harris, a former 1st-team All-American who also was from Zanesville. Malik said the following about getting some coaching from Harris: "I can't even put into words how much fun it was to be coached by him. He always had tips and drills for me. Coach Harris was always on my back during school and throughout practice. It was just a blast to be coached by him".In the end of the interview, we gave Malik the opportunity to tell us any thing he would want Battler fans to know about himself, his plans, his career, his game, etc. He gave us a one-sentence statement that we think says it all about what the Battler basketball program is getting. "All I want to say to the AB fans is that I will do whatever it takes to win", stated Bocook emphatically. We thought that was all that needed to be said.
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