Jacob Greer Cohen (; born September 25, 1990) is an American-Israeli 6' 10 " (2.10 m ) tall 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 (appro ...

player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. He also represents the Israeli national team in international competitions. Cohen played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

, 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 rebound In basketball, a rebound, sometimes colloquially referred to as a board, is a statistic awarded to a player who retrieves the basketball (ball), ball after a missed Field goal (basketball), field goal or free throw. Rebound (sports), Rebounds in ...

s, offensive rebounds, free throw percentage,

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

s, and blocks.

Early life

Cohen is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, to David (who had played basketball at

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

) and Kate Cohen. Growing up he was a member of and attended Hebrew school at Temple Sholom in Broomall, where he had his

Bar Mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

. His older brother, Josh, played football at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. He was raised in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. By

seventh grade Seventh grade (also 7th Grade or Grade 7) is the seventh year of formal or compulsory education. The seventh grade is typically the first or second year of middle school. In the United States, kids in seventh grade are usually around 12–13 years ...

, he was .

High school career

While a high school student, he played for the Philadelphia

Jewish Community Center A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social, and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish culture and heritage through holiday celebrations, ...

(JCC) team, which won a gold medal at the 2007 JCC Maccabi Games as he scored 33 points in the finals. 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. As a senior in 2009 he averaged 17.6 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots a game. 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 McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

nominee in 2009. He was a four-year Honor Roll student.

College career

Cohen, a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

, came to

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 The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...

, averaging 13.3 points per game. He was named

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

Freshman of the Year. 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 ''Jewish Sports Review'' (JSR) was a bi-monthly magazine that operated from 1997 to 2022. Its editors were Ephraim Moxson and Shel Wallman. The magazine identified Jewish athletes, including professionals, college players, athletes in internati ...

''. 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. In an unusual move, Cohen's teammate De'Mon Brooks was named player of the year by the league's coaches. 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). He was voted as SoCon Player of the Year by the league's head coaches and the media. 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). 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).

Professional career

Cohen went

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in the

2013 NBA draft The 2013 NBA draft was held on June 27, 2013, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including internation ...

. He was signed to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

summer league team immediately following the draft, and played for it in July 2013. He signed a four-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv in July 2013. In the 2013–14 season, he played 10 games for Maccabi Tel Aviv, and 14 games on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

for Maccabi Rishon Le Zion. He moved back to Maccabi Tel Aviv for the 2014–15 season. On August 18, 2015, Cohen signed an annual contract with

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

team

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

. On July 29, 2016, Cohen signed with Maccabi Ashdod for the 2016–17 season. 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 Hapoel Gilboa Galil () is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250-seat arena in Gan Ner. History T ...

. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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

. He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 11 MVP. On January 2, 2019, Cohen was named Israeli League Player of the Month for games played in December. Cohen signed with Obradoiro CAB of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

on July 29, 2020. On October 8, he was named the top Israeli playing abroad for the week after posting 13 points against

Bilbao Basket Club Basket Bilbao Berri Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., commonly known as Bilbao Basket (), also known as Surne Bilbao Basket for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Bilbao, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. T ...

. On July 5, 2021, he has signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the

International career

Cohen, who was granted Israeli citizenship on the basis of his being Jewish, represented Israel in the

FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The FIBA U20 EuroBasket is the new name for the FIBA U20 European Championship, originally known as the European Championship for Men '22 and Under'. It is a men's youth basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1992 edition. Through ...

Division B in Austria in 2010. 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. 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. 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 Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, recording 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2013–14† , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="8", Maccabi Tel Aviv , 4 , , 0 , , 3.8 , , .200 , , , , , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , , , 0.5 , , -0.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , 15 , , 2 , , 5.7 , , .471 , , .286 , , .800 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .2 , , .1 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , 19 , , 0 , , 7.6 , , .452 , , .500 , , .778 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , .1 , , , , 2.1 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 25 , , 0 , , 8.7 , , .450 , , .400 , , .786 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .2 , , , , 2.9 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , 24 , , 3 , , 13.3 , , .531 , , .452 , , .684 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .1 , , 5.4 , , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , 13 , , 2 , , 24.6 , , .531 , , .452 , , .684 , , 3.8 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 2.2 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , 27 , , 17 , , 12.2 , , .439 , , .265 , , .813 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.0 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , 36 , , 31 , , 10.3 , , .467 , , .378 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , .9 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.0 , , 2.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 163 , , 55 , , 9.7 , , .468 , , .387 , , .771 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.9 , , 2.6

EuroCup

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki (), is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club founded on 25 March 1914 in Thessaloniki. Nicknamed ''God of War'', Aris was one of the strongest Greek clubs during t ...

, 16 , , 0 , , 14.3 , , .468 , , .357 , , .771 , , 3.2 , , .4 , , .6 , , .5 , , 6.8 , , 6.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 16 , , 0 , , 14.3 , , .468 , , .357 , , .771 , , 3.2 , , .4 , , .6 , , .5 , , 6.8 , , 6.8

Domestic leagues

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;" ! Year ! Team ! League ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi Tel Aviv , , style="text-align:center;", Ligat HaAl , , 10 , , 8.4 , , .565 , , .286 , , .700 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi Rishon L.Z. , , style="text-align:center;", Ligat HaAl , , 14 , , 21.7 , , .469 , , .250 , , .780 , , 5.0 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .6 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi Tel Aviv , , style="text-align:center;", Ligat HaAl , , 40 , , 18.1 , , .471 , , .405 , , .888 , , 4.2 , , .9 , , .5 , , .5 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", HEBA A1 , , 36 , , 14.3 , , .389 , , .269 , , .734 , , 3.4 , , .6 , , .4 , , .4 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi Ashdod , , style="text-align:center;", Ligat HaAl , , 32 , , 30.0 , , .519 , , .299 , , .829 , , 7.7 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , .6 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi Tel Aviv , , style="text-align:center;", Ligat HaAl , , 39 , , 19.3 , , .542 , , .406 , , .849 , , 4.8 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .4 , , 9.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi Tel Aviv , , style="text-align:center;", Ligat HaAl , , 38 , , 17.7 , , .586 , , .407 , , .893 , , 4.2 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .3 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi Tel Aviv , , style="text-align:center;", Ligat HaAl , , 32 , , 21.5 , , .525 , , .382 , , .862 , , 4.7 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , .2 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , , style="text-align:left;", Obradoiro , , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 35 , , 21.7 , , .447 , , .330 , , .855 , , 3.8 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .3 , , 8.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi Tel Aviv , , style="text-align:center;", Ligat HaAl , , 33 , , 16.3 , , .537 , , .431 , , .771 , , 3.5 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .1 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi Tel Aviv , , style="text-align:center;", Ligat HaAl , , 35 , , 16.8 , , .542 , , .448 , , .864 , , 3.2 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , .3 , , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi Tel Aviv , , style="text-align:center;", Ligat HaAl , , 37 , , 17.3 , , .540 , , .354 , , .896 , , 3.8 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .3 , , 5.2

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Davidson , 31 , , 23 , , 22.7 , , .466 , , .311 , , .709 , , 5.1 , , .8 , , .5 , , 1.2 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;", Davidson , 33 , , 33 , , 23.2 , , .489 , , .333 , , .773 , , 6.2 , , .8 , , .5 , , 1.5 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Davidson , 33 , , 32 , , 24.8 , , .487 , , .366 , , .876 , , 6.1 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , 1.7 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;", Davidson , 34 , , 34 , , 25.6 , , .497 , , .388 , , .831 , , 5.3 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , 1.6 , , 14.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 131 , , 122 , , 24.1 , , .485 , , .351 , , .805 , , 5.7 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 1.5 , , 13.7

References

External links

Israeli League profile

Euroleague profile

Eurobasket.com profile

Davidson Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Jake 1990 births Living people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Israeli sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Aris B.C. players Basketball players from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Centers (basketball) Davidson Wildcats men's basketball players Israeli men's basketball players Jewish American basketball players Jews from Pennsylvania Liga ACB players Maccabi Ashdod B.C. players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Naturalised basketball players Obradoiro CAB players Power forwards Sportspeople from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania