ESPN staff writer and apparent dinosaur enthusiast, Justin Verrier, tweeted today that the Pelicans have signed former Duke standout Quinn Cook  to their training camp roster. The 6-2 combo guard was a co-captain on the 2014-15 Duke National Championship team, which included future first round draft picks Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow.

Before his senior year, Cook was set up to be the team’s starting point guard, but switched to an off ball role after freshman Tyus Jones joined the roster. That year Cook became known for playing solid defense and taking the big shot in big moments for the Blue Devils. On a team with a short bench and 4 contributing freshmen, Cook quickly became a mature, veteran presence for Duke.

Cook went undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, but he was eventually signed by the Canton Charge of the D-League. Cook’s highs and lows in the D-League were chronicled in an installment of the podcast Embedded. If you’re a basketball nerd, I can’t recommend that podcast episode enough. Ultimately, Cook’s rookie year had more highs than lows as he went on to win D-League Rookie of the Year and make a D-League All Star Team. Despite his performance, Cook didn’t get a chance to join a NBA roster last season.

To be clear, Cook is a fine player, but he almost certainly won’t make the Pelicans roster. Feel free to take this opportunity to point that fact out on Twitter or in the comments to show your friends just how clever you are. Now, having said that, all the evidence I’ve seen suggests Cook is a high character guy and an excellent teammate. Plus, he also seems hungry to make a NBA roster. That’s just the guy you want pushing your guys in training camp. So while signing Cook won’t guarantee the Pelicans a trip to the finals, it could still generate some positive externalities for the team.

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