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The Nevada Wolfpack basketball program took a hit on Friday afternoon. According to ESPN's Jeff Goodman, junior guard Hallice Cooke will not be continuing his college career due to a heart issue.
Nevada's Hallice Cooke told ESPN his college career is over, he will be a student volunteer assistant due to heart issue. Came from Iowa St.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) July 29, 2016
Cooke transferred to Nevada after playing for the Iowa State Cyclones during the 2015-16 season. He only played 10.9 minutes per game, and made the decision to make the change in search of more playing time. Before that, Cooke played a year at Oregon State in 2013-14.
The Wolfpack were coming off a strong season in which they went 24-14, but missed the NCAA tournament. Nevada made plenty of moves on the transfer market over the summer, adding Kendall Stephens from Purdue, Cody and Caleb Martin from North Carolina State, along with Cooke. Those additions combined with a strong returning roster provided some optimism heading into the 2016-17 season.
Hallice Cooke will remain with the Nevada basketball program as a student volunteer. It's admirable for him to make this difficult decision with the bigger picture in mind. Living a healthy life is more important than risking your health to play college basketball. Cooke will likely still be a big part of the Wolfpack behind the scenes, and if this Instagram post is any indication, he has his eyes set on bigger things in life.