After a 12-year professional career, Jake Cohen, a 2009 alumnus, announced his retirement from international professional basketball in March. The decision came shortly after Cohen played his 500th game with Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club.
During his time at Conestoga, Cohen played baseball, basketball and football, but after spending a summer with an Amateur Athletic Union team, he decided to focus on basketball. After freshman year, Cohen played on the boys’ varsity basketball team, winning a Central League title and finishing third in districts. His favorite memory was an out-of-state tournament.
“We went out to a holiday tournament in San Diego and we won the championship out there. I think it was only a three or four day tournament,” Cohen said, “We played two or three games, but we won on a buzzer beater. That was a really good memory.”
After high school, he played Division I basketball at Davidson College in North Carolina from 2009 to 2013. Cohen won Southern Conference Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013 as well as Freshman of the Year in 2010. The team won the Southern Conference championships during Cohen’s junior and senior years, qualifying for the NCAA March Madness tournament. Cohen describes it as one of his favorite experiences in his career.
“One of the coolest things I’ve done as a basketball player is play in March Madness,” Cohen said. “It definitely lived up to my aspirations from when I was a little kid. It was really special. And in that moment, it was the most special thing I’d ever done. To be able to have two good games in March Madness was really cool, too. It taught me a lot about myself, that I could be in the biggest spotlight I’d ever been before and not shy away from it and be able to perform.”
After Davidson, Cohen signed with Maccabi Tel-Aviv in 2013. Although he played with other teams throughout his career in Israel, Greece and Spain, he ultimately returned and spent nine of his 12 professional years with the club, competing both nationally in the Israeli Basketball Premier League and abroad in the EuroLeague. Cohen attributes his successful career to hard work and his enjoyment for the sport.
“I worked my butt off to get as good as I possibly could. I made a lot of sacrifices for it. At the same time, I also realized that it’s supposed to be fun and I need to enjoy it,” Cohen said. “I realized that I can enjoy those sacrifices because I want to be as good as I can, the other stuff fell into place.”
Cohen is now married with two kids and lives in Malvern. Since retiring, Cohen has missed being around his teammates and the daily competition of the game. He hopes to celebrate Thanksgiving at home, something he hasn’t done in 17 years.
Cohen plans to see Conestoga’s boys’ basketball team in action at games this winter. Cohen advises aspiring athletes to focus on the present and work hard.
“Stay focused on those short-term goals and the long-term stuff will take care of itself because ultimately, as an athlete, you need to succeed if you want to advance your career. And the best way to succeed is to work your butt off,” Cohen said. “Don’t look so much at what’s five or 10 or 15 years down the line because that’s not helpful that I’ve found.”
