Levi Cook is known for his big body. He's 6-foot-10 and at one time he weighed 305 pounds.
As a freshman, that is, in high school.
Yet he's also known as a homebody. He's currently back in Arnett, an unincorporated town in Raleigh County. He loves his friends there. He loves his "Mamaw."
Understand, though, that this homer has had quite the odyssey. He's been to Liberty Raleigh High. He's been to Huntington Prep. He's been to the Elev8 Sports Institute in Delray Beach, Florida.
He's been everywhere, man. And he's only 18 years of age.
On Wednesday, Cook, now a more svelte 250 pounds, signed a national letter of intent to play basketball for DePaul University in Chicago.
"The frontcourt was a major area of need for us in this class and Levi Cook was someone we identified and made an absolute priority," said Blue Demons coach Dave Leitao. "We love the size and skill set he brings to our team."
In a way, Cook's life is just starting. In another way, he's already lived a life.
It was back in 2011 when Cook's name first hit these sports pages. He was 6-10 so young, and comparisons were drawn between him and former Mount Hope star Earl Jones. He averaged 18.6 points, 15.4 rebounds and 4.3 blocks as a freshman. He became a prep sensation.
Behind the scenes, in the world of hoops, Cook was known even earlier.
"The first time I ever talked to a college coach I was in Morgantown at a camp," Cook said. "I got into a fight and had to talk to a camp counselor. The kid was 4-11 and I was 6-4.
"I remember talking and Coach [Bob] Huggins walked by. I started sweating and stuttering. He said, 'You're only 11 years old?' I said 'yes.' He said he'd start recruiting me when I was in seventh grade. I told him I couldn't afford these camps."
Cook laughs at the memory now.
"Most kids don't get started with recruiting in seventh grade," he said.
Soon, though, then-Northern Kentucky coach Darris Nichols (now an assistant at Florida) was calling, Cook said. Ditto Marshall assistant Mark Cline. Ditto ex-Virginia Tech assistant and head coach James Johnson.
Cook went to the SuperSoph Camp in Atlanta alongside names like former Ohio State center Daniel Giddens, ex-Kentucky center Skal Labissiere, UCLA's Prince Ali and Cal's Jaylen Brown.
"I was one of the best there," Cook remembers. "And afterward I got calls from Tubby Smith, Rick Pitino ... "
In August of 2012, Cook said he visited WVU and spoke with Huggins and assistant Larry Harrison. The pair offered a scholarship and asked for a commitment. Cook said yes.
"It was my Papaw's dream for me to commit," Cook said at that time. "He's in heaven now but [that day] was his birthday. I thought this was the best present I could give him."
As a sophomore at Liberty, Cook averaged 23.5 points, 13.2 rebounds and 4.1 blocks and was a Class AA first-team all-state selection.
Then came change. Cook wanted to hone his skills and was looking at going to schools like Arlington Country Day in Florida. However, then-Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford got wind of it, contacted Cook and convinced him to go there and stay closer to home.
In two seasons at Huntington Prep, Cook averaged 6 points and eight rebounds.
Another change: On Sept. 26, 2014, Cook de-committed from WVU via Twitter. ("After speaking with my family and the coaching staff at WVU, I have decided, at this time, to re-open my recruitment," said Cook's post. "I love my home state and WVU is still a viable option. My decision has nothing to do with Coach Huggins and his staff.")
"We just didn't see eye-to-eye on a couple things," Cook said this week of the breakup. "I just decided to go somewhere else."
Cook did say, however, his advice to recruits is not to commit early. "Take your time," he said. Later, he added that he didn't "think coaches should pressure 15-year-olds."
Aside from those changes, there were injuries, including a severe ACL (knee) tear.
"Before, I had [Michigan's] John Beilein, [then-Pitt's] Jamie Dixon and [South Carolina's] Frank Martin calling," Cook said. "After the ACL, I had no calls. It's sad. Basketball really is a business."
Onward, though, Cook went. He lost 45 pounds on his own and then chose to attend the aforementioned Elev8 Sports Institute in Florida.
Online it's advertised as a nine-month academy complete with private and advanced training and elite travel teams. It was once the respected "Bucky Dent Baseball School" before being bought by Donald Uderitz. Basketball and lacrosse instruction were then offered, in addition to baseball, to "elite domestic and international high school-aged student-athletes and post-grad athletes" that "live on campus, attend local schools and train full-time."
Cook characterizes it differently.
"It was one of those scam schools," he said. "They would get eight good players and make the others pay $40,000. It was just a mess down there. I loved my teammates, but some of those guys did me dirty."
When the school was contacted, a secretary said "we don't have the basketball program for next year." Former basketball coach Chad Myers, who once attended Shepherd University, said he was changing jobs and the basketball program "may be switching places."
"I didn't know what was going on," Cook said. "They flew me back to West Virginia then told me to come back and get my clothes in three days or they were going to burn them. They knew I couldn't get there in three days."
"I would say it was an up-and-down struggle for Levi," Myers said. "He was coming back from the knee injury. Sometimes he would play great and other times he would struggle."
The coach hinted Cook missed practices and classes, which led to conflict. He said, however, that, yes, Cook should be fine academically for DePaul because of virtual classes taken at the facility with tutoring. "It was all NCAA approved," said the coach.
Cook said he was "jerked around" at times and pointed to being "20 minutes late to practice" as a sticking point.
In the midst of it all, though, an official visit was set up with DePaul of the Big East. The Blue Demons were 9-22 last season, 3-15 in league play and finished next to last to St. John's, but the school is the largest Catholic university in the nation.
"I went on an official visit," Cook said, "and I loved it."
He also loved making an appearance in Beckley's Scott Brown Memorial Classic all-star event. Cook played against four WVU signees, among others, and was the MVP after scoring 24 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
"Once I have a mindset to do something, I go get it," Cook said. "I felt disrespected. I can play with anyone in the country."
He'll have the opportunity to show that in the Big East. Cook, a four-star recruit according to ESPN rankings, said he's working out and taking online courses while in Arnett.
Soon, though, he'll be off to Chicago to start another odyssey.
"After all the BS," he sighed. "Finally."