Jake Cohen
ג'ייק כהן
Cohen with Maccabi Tel Aviv in December 2022
No. 15 – Maccabi Tel Aviv
PositionPower forward / Center
LeagueIsraeli Premier League
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1990-09-25) September 25, 1990 (age 33)
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Israeli
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolConestoga
(Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania)
CollegeDavidson (2009–2013)
NBA draft2013: undrafted
Playing career2013–present
Career history
2013–2015Maccabi Tel Aviv
2014→Maccabi Rishon LeZion
2015–2016Aris Thessaloniki
2016–2017Maccabi Ashdod
2017–2020Maccabi Tel Aviv
2020–2021Obradoiro
2021–presentMaccabi Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Jacob Greer Cohen (ג'ייק כהן; born September 25, 1990) is an American-Israeli[1] 6' 10 3⁄4" (2.10 m )[2] tall professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague. He also represents the Israeli national team in international competitions.

Cohen played college basketball at Davidson College, with the Davidson Wildcats, from 2009 through 2013. He was a two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year, as both a junior and senior. He finished his college career in the top 10 all-time in the conference in career defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds, free throw percentage, free throws, and blocks.

Early life

Cohen is Jewish,[3][4] and was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, to David (who had played basketball at Haverford College) and Kate Cohen.[3][5] Growing up he was a member of and attended Hebrew school at Temple Sholom in Broomall, where he had his Bar Mitzvah.[1][6] His older brother, Josh, played football at Dartmouth College.[5]

He was raised in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.[3] By seventh grade, he was 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m).[7]

High school career

While a high school student, he played for the Philadelphia Jewish Community Center (JCC) team, which won a gold medal at the 2007 JCC Maccabi Games as he scored 33 points in the finals.[8]

In high school, he played basketball at Conestoga High School in Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania. As a junior in 2008 he averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds per game, and was named All-Central League, All-Chester County, and Main Line Player of the Year.[5][9]

As a senior in 2009 he averaged 17.6 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots a game.[5] He was named All-Main Line, Chester County Player of the Year, third-team Class AAAA All-State, Central League MVP, and was a McDonald's All-American nominee in 2009.[5] He was a four-year Honor Roll student.[5]

College career

Cohen, a 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) power forward, came to Davidson College in the 2009–10 season, and quickly joined the starting lineup of the Wildcats. He became the first freshman to lead Davidson in scoring since All-American Stephen Curry, averaging 13.3 points per game. He was named Southern Conference Freshman of the Year.[10]

As a sophomore in the 2010–11 season, he averaged 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds a game, ranked 2nd in the SoCon in blocked shots (and was 2nd in the Conference with 1.5 blocked shots per game) and 9th in rebounding and field-goal percentage, and was named a first-team All-American by the Jewish Sports Review.[5][10][11]

As a junior in the 2011–12 season, Cohen scored 14.3 points (10th in the Conference) and grabbed 6.1 rebounds per game, led the Conference in free throws (141), blocked shots (55), and blocked shots per game (1.7), was 2nd in free throw percentage (.876), and was named Southern Conference Player of the Year by the league's media.[11][12] In an unusual move, Cohen's teammate De'Mon Brooks was named player of the year by the league's coaches.[13]

As a senior in the 2012–13 season, he averaged 14.9 points (6th in the Conference), 5.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. He shot 39% from 3-point range, 50% from two-point range (5th in the Conference), and 83% from the free throw line (4th in the Conference), and had 128 free throws (2nd in the Conference) and 56 blocks (2nd in the Conference), 1.6 blocked shots per game (2nd in the Conference), and 508 points (3rd in the Conference).[11][14] He was voted as SoCon Player of the Year by the league's head coaches and the media.[15]

Cohen ended his college career as Davidson's all-time leader in blocks (197) and starts (123). He was also 2nd in free-throws made (451), 6th in points (1,795), 7th in field-goals made (611), 8th in free-throw percentage (.805), and 9th in rebounds (747).[16] He was 2nd all-time in the Southern Conference in defensive rebounds (515), 5th in offensive rebounds (232), 7th in free throw percentage (.805) and free throws (451), and 8th in blocks (197).[11]

Professional career

Cohen went undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft. He was signed to the Phoenix Suns summer league team immediately following the draft, and played for it in July 2013.[17][18]

He signed a four-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv in July 2013.[14][19][20] In the 2013–14 season, he played 10 games for Maccabi Tel Aviv, and 14 games on loan for Maccabi Rishon Le Zion.[21][22] He moved back to Maccabi Tel Aviv for the 2014–15 season.[21]

On August 18, 2015, Cohen signed an annual contract with Greek team Aris.[23]

On July 29, 2016, Cohen signed with Maccabi Ashdod for the 2016–17 season.[24] On May 8, 2017, Cohen recorded a season-high 27 points, shooting 12-of-16 from the field, along with 6 rebounds and 6 assists in an 85–95 loss to Hapoel Gilboa Galil.[25] In 32 games played during the 2016–17 season, Cohen averaged 13.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

On June 27, 2017, Cohen returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv for a second stint, signing a two-year deal.[26] Cohen helped Maccabi win the 2017 Israeli League Cup. On June 14, 2018, Cohen recorded 18 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, along with 5 rebounds and 4 steals in the championship game against Hapoel Holon and helped Maccabi win the 2018 Israeli League Championship after a 95–75 victory.[27]

On May 27, 2019, Cohen recorded a season-high 21 points, shooting 8-of-11 from the field, along with three rebounds, four assists and two steals, in an 85–72 playoff win over Hapoel Tel Aviv.[28] Cohen helped Maccabi win the 2019 Israeli League Championship, winning his second straight Israeli League title in the process.

On June 25, 2019, Cohen signed a one-year contract extension with Maccabi.[29] On December 23, 2019, Cohen recorded a double-double with a career-high 33 points and 14 rebounds, while shooting 14-of-22 from the field, in a 112–110 double overtime win over Hapoel Gilboa Galil.[30] He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 11 MVP.[31] On January 2, 2019, Cohen was named Israeli League Player of the Month for games played in December.[32]

Cohen signed with Obradoiro CAB of the Liga ACB on July 29, 2020.[33] On October 8, he was named the top Israeli playing abroad for the week after posting 13 points against Bilbao Basket.[34]

On July 5, 2021, he has signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[35]

International career

Cohen, who was granted Israeli citizenship on the basis of his being Jewish, represented Israel in the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B in Austria in 2010.[1][36] He led the tournament in scoring at 20 ppg, led all players in the tournament with 87% free throw shooting, led all players in fouls drawn per game (6.4), and was named to the all-tournament team.[3][14][37][38]

He was on the Team USA roster for the 2013 Maccabiah Games, but did not play because he instead was playing in the NBA summer league in an effort to be picked by an NBA team.[8][39]

Cohen is a member of the senior men's Israeli national basketball team, On November 24, 2017, he made his first appearance for the senior team at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification match against Estonia, recording 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.[40]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2013–14 Maccabi 4 2 3.8 .200 .000 .000 .3 .3 .3 .0 .5 .0
2014–15 Maccabi 15 2 5.7 .470 .286 .800 1.1 .3 .2 .1 1.5 1.5
2017–18 Maccabi 19 0 7.5 .451 .500 .778 1.6 .2 .1 .0 2.1 2.2
2018–19 Maccabi 25 0 8.6 .450 .400 .786 1.1 .6 .2 .0 2.9 2.4
Career 63 4 7.2 .442 .400 .786 1.2 .4 .2 .0 2.2 1.9

Israel Basketball Premier League [41]

Season Team GP MIN FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–2014 Maccabi Tel Aviv 10 8.4 56.5% 28.6 70.1 1.2 0.1 0.3 0.1 3.5
2013–2014 Rishon Le Zion 14 21.6 46.9% 25.0 78.0 5.0 1.1 0.6 0.6 10.9
2014–2015 Maccabi Tel Aviv 32 17.6 48.2% 38.8 88.1 4.3 0.9 0.5 0.5 7.4
2015–2016 PLAYED FOR ARIS BC OF GREEK BASKET LEAGUE
2016–2017 Maccabi Ashdod 32 30.0 51.9% 29.9 82.9 7.7 2.1 0.9 0.6 13.2
2017–2018 Maccabi Tel Aviv 32 18.8 53.0% 31.8 85.1 4.9 1.3 0.5 0.3 8.9
2018–2019 Maccabi Tel Aviv 33 17.2 57.9% 44.9 87.7 4.3 1.9 0.6 0.4 7.5
2019–2020 Maccabi Tel Aviv 21 23.3 56.0% 41.3 89.2 5.3 2.5 0.6 0.2 11.3

References

  1. ^ a b c Eric Berger (August 21, 2013). "Berwyn Basketball Player to Join Maccabi Tel Aviv". Jewish Exponent. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  2. ^ Euroleague.net COHEN, JAKE CENTER HEIGHT: 2.10
  3. ^ a b c d "Interview: Jake Cohen Takes Over For Stephen Curry" (Interview). Jewish Journal. July 27, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  4. ^ Fine, Jeremy (June 4, 2013). "Interview with NBA prospect Jake Cohen" (Interview). Oy!Chicago. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Davidson College – Jake Cohen – 2011–12 Men's Basketball". Davidsonwildcats.com. September 25, 1990. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  6. ^ Ghert, Renee (July 18, 2013). "For 6'10" Jake Cohen, hoop dreams with a side of hummus". The Times of Israel. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  7. ^ Joseph Santoliquito (March 6, 2012). "Cohen and Conestoga continue to improve". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  8. ^ a b Eric Berger (March 22, 2013). "Local Forward Sees Hopes Dashed in Davidson Defeat". Jewish Exponent. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  9. ^ "Lets Chop It Up: Cohen Chooses Stephen Curry-Led Davidson Program". Jordaningram55.com. October 13, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Bob Wechsler (May 9, 2011). "Jared Mintz, Andrew Stein honored by Jewish Sports Review". lehighvalleylive.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d "Jake Cohen Stats | College Basketball". Sports-reference.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  12. ^ "SoCon Media Selects All-Conference Team". Southern Conference. February 29, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  13. ^ "Brooks earns SoCon top player honor". The Charlotte Observer. March 7, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  14. ^ a b c Amy Samin (August 7, 2013). "Jake Cohen Signs 4 Year Contract with Maccabi". Maccabi.co.il. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  15. ^ "Davidson College – Jake Cohen – 2012–13 Men's Basketball". Davidsonwildcats.com. September 25, 1990. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  16. ^ "Davidson College – Cohen Signs Multi-Year Deal with Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv of the Euroleague". Davidsonwildcats.com. February 14, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  17. ^ "Cohen to Play for Phoenix Suns' Summer League Squad". Davidson Athletics. June 28, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  18. ^ "Suns bust Blazers 82–69". July 13, 2013.
  19. ^ "Cohen Signs Multi-Year Deal with Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv of the Euroleague". Davidson Athletics. July 9, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  20. ^ "Davidson's Cohen Signs with Israeli Pro Team", lakenormancitizen.com.
  21. ^ a b "Cohen, Jake". Euroleague.net. September 25, 1990. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  22. ^ "Maccabi Haifa Basketball Club". Mhbasket.co.il. January 23, 2014. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  23. ^ "Jake Cohen, ο 9ος" (in Greek). Aris BC. August 18, 2015. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  24. ^ "Maccabi Ashdod inks Jake Cohen". Sportando.com. July 29, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  25. ^ "Winner League, Game 31: Gilboa Galil Vs Maccabi Ashdod". basket.co.il. May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  26. ^ "Maccabi brings back big man Cohen". euroleague.net. June 27, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  27. ^ "בפעם ה-52: מכבי "FOX" ת"א אלופה!". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  28. ^ "Winner League Quarter Final, Game Number 2: Hapoel TA Vs M. Tel-Aviv". basket.co.il. May 27, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  29. ^ "Jake Cohen signed for another season at Maccabi". Sportando.basketball. June 25, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  30. ^ "Winner League, Game 11: Gilboa Galil Vs M. Tel-Aviv". basket.co.il. December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  31. ^ "מצטיין המחזור ה-11: ג'ייק כהן". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  32. ^ "שחקן החודש בליגת ווינר סל: ג'ייק כהן". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  33. ^ "Jake Cohen officially joins Obradoiro". Sportando. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  34. ^ "Jake Cohen selected the top Israeli playing abroad in last week's games". Eurobasket. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  35. ^ "Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv brought back Jake Cohen". Sportando. July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  36. ^ Romano, Brittany (July 22, 2010). "Ranking the top 20 NCAA players at this summer's Euro Championships". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  37. ^ "Ranking the top 20 NCAA players at this summer's Euro Championships". Sports Illustrated. July 22, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  38. ^ "Eurobasket Daily News Report". Eurobasket.com. April 12, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  39. ^ Sinai, Allon (July 14, 2013). "Cohen to miss Games for Team USA: Interview with Coach Greenberg". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  40. ^ "Israel v Estonia boxscore – FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers". fiba.basketball. November 24, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  41. ^ "Jake Cohen, Basketball Player".

External links

Maccabi Tel Aviv current roster
Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Categories