Cook resigns at South Elgin

South Elgin is searching for a new boys basketball coach eleven weeks before the Nov. 7 opening of practice.

Jim Cook, who directed the Storm for one season, resigned on Monday, South Elgin athletic director Jason Ward confirmed Friday afternoon.

South Elgin finished 13-17 in Cook's only season, bowing out in a regional semifinal against top subsectional seed DeKalb 54-49.

"He came to the office on Monday and said he needed to talk to me," Ward said. "He said he has some family stuff going on and he's going to be spending some time going back and forth between Illinois and Florida. He didn't get into specifics. He had to go back and forth a lot last year, too. He felt the travel would interfere with coaching."

Cook, who also formerly coached at Judson University, did not immediately return calls for comment.

Ward said he spoke to the returning varsity players and sophomores on Tuesday to let them know what was happening. Cook had already set up a fall training plan for the program to follow. The varsity will compete in a fall league in Aurora. The sophomores will play fall ball in a Lisle-based league.

Ward said Cook's resignation was not tied to the midsummer transfer of 6-foot-3 junior guard Anthony Lynch to Larkin, as far as he knew. Lynch was one of the top scorers for the Storm in each of his first two varsity seasons.

"I don't think that had anything to do with it," Ward said. "Jim thinks the world of Anthony. He and his family did what they felt was best for his future and we wish him the best."

The coaching vacancy was posted on the Elgin Area School District U-46 website on Friday.

"I do feel a sense of urgency to find a coach, but I'm not going to rush it," Ward said. "We'll keep moving. I have a couple of coaches inside the program that could do a quality job, I'm sure. I'm going to open it up and see what's out there. My priority is not just a good coach but a long-term coach."