Segado Cortez "Cookie" Belcher (born June 25, 1978) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

from 1996 to 2001 and set several school records. Since 2012 he is a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

Early life

Belcher was born in

Mexico, Missouri , image_skyline = Audrain County Missouri Courthouse.JPG , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = The Audrain County Courthouse in downtown Mexico. , image_flag = , image_seal = ...

. He went to Saint Brendan's Catholic School. He played basketball for the school in fifth grade through eighth grade. He played on the basketball team at Mexico High School."Cookie Belcher"
. nba.com. Retrieved January 21, 2013. Belcher is a second-degree cousin of former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player current coach

Tyronn Lue Tyronn Jamar Lue (pronounced ''Ta-RON LEW''; born May 3, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He formerly served as t ...

who also grew up in Mexico, Missouri.

College career

Belcher played for Nebraska from 1996 to 2001. In his freshman season, 1996–97, he averaged 9.2 points per game. He was the only Husker player to start all 33 games that year. He led the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

in steals per game, with 2.6, and his 87 total steals was a new Nebraska freshman record. The following season, Belcher started all 32 games and averaged 11.1 points. He led the team in steals, with 75, and was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive team."Cookie Belcher Bio"
huskers.com. Retrieved January 21, 2013. In 1998–99, Belcher averaged 11.8 points per game. He also averaged 3.2 steals per game to lead the Big 12, and his 102 steals was a new NU and Big 12 season record. In 1999–2000, Belcher injured his wrist early in the season, receiving a medical redshirt. He played in only four games during the season. The following year, as a senior, Belcher led Nebraska with 16.4 points per game and 82 steals. He was also named to the Big 12 All-Defensive team. He finished his college career with 353 steals, which was the most in Nebraska and Big 12 Conference history. In addition, he set school records for most career minutes played (4095), games played (131), and starts (129). He ranked second in career assists (477).

Professional career

Belcher was not selected in the

2001 NBA draft The 2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001 in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by the Washington Wizards, ...

. He played for Italy's Lauretana Biella from 2001 to 2005, and for

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

Bnei HaSharon from 2005 to 2010, before moving to

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Maroussi B.C. Maroussi B.C. ( gr, K.A.E. Μαρούσι, link=off) alternately translated as Marousi, Amaroussi, or Amaroussion, is a professional basketball club that is based in Marousi, a northern suburb of Athens, in Greece. The club's full name is Gymnasti ...

(where he cooperated with his Israeli team partner for the last 5 years,

Ousmane Cisse Ousmane Cisse (born October 20, 1982) is a Malian retired professional basketball player. Standing at 6' 9" he played both power forward and center positions. In 2005-06 he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League, as well as ...

) and retiring after a year, finishing a decade of professional career.

Coaching career

In 2012, he joined

References

External links