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Q&A: Sandy Cohen Having Big AAU Season, Has Gophers Offer, Will Visit U Campus in May
Sandy Cohen Having Big AAU Season, Has Gophers Offer, Will Visit U Campus in May
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/252691?referrer_id=331171
Sandy Cohen, a 6-foot-5 guard from Seymour (WI) High, has been one of the hottest name on the AAU circuit this spring. Cohen, who plays for the Wisconsin Playground Elite, recently received a scholarship offer from Minnesota and plans to visit the campus later this month.
Cohen averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds per game for a Seymour squad that went 20-5, losing to Pulaski 45-39 in the WIAA sectionals. He scored in double figures in 20 of 23 games with a season-best 30 points versus Notre Dame. Cohen was an unanimous first-team all-Bay Conference selection as a junior.
Gopher Hole.com caught up with Cohen Wednesday afternoon to learn the latest on his strong AAU season and his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: If I had told you a month ago that you would be hearing from some of the schools that are contacting you, like Minnesota and Marquette among others, what would you have thought?
Sandy Cohen: I would have said that I thought that you were probably just joking around and being sarcastic and messing with me. Nobody thought that this would be a reality.
Gopher Hole: It has to make you pretty proud that all your hard work to continue to improve yourself has paid off.
Sandy Cohen: Yes. I am really excited. I have been in the gym a lot and I am just glad that it is finally paying off.
Gopher Hole: What schools are you hearing from right now?
Sandy Cohen: I am hearing from Minnesota, Marquette, Memphis, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Providence, Auburn, Clemson. Just a lot of schools.
Gopher Hole: How many scholarship offers are you up to right now?
Sandy Cohen: I have seven. I have one from UWGB, North Dakota, George Washington, Minnesota, Marquette, Memphis and LaSalle.
Gopher Hole: Are most of the offers fairly recent?
Sandy Cohen: Yes. Minnesota, Memphis and Marquette are all from last weekend.
Gopher Hole: Most of those coaches have watched you the past two weekends in the EYBL. Have you noticed those coaches watching you or do you try not to?
Sandy Cohen: I have seen all the college coaches at the games. It kind of makes me nervous, but I just try to play my game.
Gopher Hole: When you make a good play do you look up at the coaches or when you make a bad play, do you try not to look up at where the coaches are sitting or do you try not to even worry about that?
Sandy Cohen: Actually, during the game, I kind of forget the all the college coaches are there, especially when it is a close game. I really don’t think about that as much. It kind of just fades away.
Gopher Hole: What things have you really been working on to continue to improve yourself as a player?
Sandy Cohen: I have been waking up at six in the morning to go and shoot at the high school. I have been working out a lot; working out in the gym after high school and in the weight room.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a player?
Sandy Cohen: I would say how versatile I am. I can play pretty much any position from the one to the three.
Gopher Hole: What positions are most teams looking at you playing in college or do they like the fact, like you said, that you can play more than one position?
Sandy Cohen: A lot of college coaches want me to play the point or the two guard.
Gopher Hole: Do you think that makes you a little more valuable that you can play more than one position?
Sandy Cohen: I think it does because coaches can think that I am interchangeable. I can either play point or here. I can play point guard or the point if he is not in the game at the time.
Gopher Hole: What is going to make you pick School A over School B or C?
Sandy Cohen: I would say just the coach that I really liked. That would probably help my decision a lot.
Gopher Hole: Have you had a lot of colleges stop by your high school or have home visits recently?
Sandy Cohen: No, not recently. It is a dead period right now. They are not able to come. Some schools want me to come on unofficial visits to go to their college.
Gopher Hole: What schools have asked you about doing that?
Sandy Cohen: Kentucky, Minnesota, Marquette and George Washington.
Gopher Hole: Have you even had a chance to visit many college campuses in the past?
Sandy Cohen: No. I’ve only been to two college, UWGB and UW-Milwaukee.
Gopher Hole: What has the reaction been with your friends and family with all the attention that you have gotten recently?
Sandy Cohen: Everyone is really excited for me. It is kind of like a new thing at my high school. We’ve never had a player go major D1. Everyone is excited and it is the buzz around town. It is kind of cool. My mom is really happy for me.
Gopher Hole: What are the expectations for your high school team next year?
Sandy Cohen: Probably a state championship.
Gopher Hole: How far did you make this past year?
Sandy Cohen: Sectionals. We were a game or two away from state.
Gopher Hole: Is that a motivating factor having gotten so close to get even farther next year?
Sandy Cohen: Oh, yes it definitely is. We were young. We have had the same group since my sophomore year. Every year, we are getting closer and closer. I think that next year should be our year. Everyone has been working really hard and I think next year is our year.
Gopher Hole: How many starters are you going to have back next year?
Sandy Cohen: We’ll have four of our five starters.
Gopher Hole: You play on a Wisconsin Playground Elite team that has another good junior, Rashad Vaughn. What has it been like playing with him?
Sandy Cohen: He is a great player. He can make people better by his passing. People double him, he can find the open player. He’s really just a good all-around player.
Gopher Hole: Has he been able to practice with you much since he is from Minnesota? Or has it been mostly playing in the events?
Sandy Cohen: Sometimes we have practice on the weekdays and he doesn’t go to those, but when we have practice (at Whitefish Bay Dominican) on the weekends, he makes it down to those.
Gopher Hole: You played for the Wisconsin Blaze and the Wisconsin Jets last year. What has it been like to play on a bigger circuit like the EYBL?
Sandy Cohen: It is such a big difference. Everyone else is just way more competitive and the game is played at such a high speed and everything is a lot more intense. It is so much different. It is kind of hard to put it into words. That is how much different it is playing on a normal circuit with the Jets or the Blaze and moving to the EYBL. It is a big difference.
Gopher Hole: I think that you have been pretty open about your past and I have read a little bit about it. I know that you have had some troubles in the past. What was that all about?
Sandy Cohen: I don’t know. It was about me living more in the city and not going to school so much and stuff like that.
Gopher Hole: I know that you have done a really good job academically to try to make up for your freshman year. Is that something that you are pretty proud of how hard, not only have you worked to improve yourself as a player, but also academically?
Sandy Cohen: Yes. I would say that it is a little easier to improve on the court than it is in school.
Gopher Hole: Have you taken the ACT or SAT yet for college?
Sandy Cohen: No. I take my Act June 8th.
Gopher Hole: You feel that with all the work that you have done that you should be eligible as a freshman, right?
Sandy Cohen: Definitely.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from Minnesota?
Sandy Cohen: Minnesota, they offered me a full ride. They want me to go on a visit after my AAU tournament in Minnesota (Memorial Day weekend).
Gopher Hole: Is that something you are looking forward to taking a visit to the college while you are up here?
Sandy Cohen: Yes. That is the plan.
Gopher Hole: I know that Marquette has offered you a scholarship and that they are one of the in-state schools. What do you like about them?
Sandy Cohen: The one thing I like about Marquette is how close they are and I think that people could come watch me from my hometown. I like the way they play and I think that Buzz Williams is a really good coach.
Gopher Hole: Are you hearing much from Wisconsin yet? Have they gotten involved with you yet. I know that they don’t have a lot of scholarship available for 2014.
Sandy Cohen: Actually, I have never received a phone call or a text or anything of interest from Wisconsin.
Gopher Hole: You had a good first week in the EYBL, going 3-1 before going 1-4 in Hampton. You are off this weekend before playing in the EYBL event in Dallas (May 10-12). I know that one of the goals for all the Nike teams is to make it to the Peach Jan in July. What are your expectations?
Sandy Cohen: Our goal isn’t to necessarily to win every game, but our main goal is to make it to the Peach Jam and be at least top five in our pool (the top five team qualify).
Gopher Hole: In the past, you used to play football. Are you planning on playing this upcoming season? Are you playing any other sports at Seymour?
Sandy Cohen: I was a three-sport athlete. I did football, basketball and track all the other years, but my senior year, I don’t think that I will be doing football. I think that I will still do track. I don’t do any running events. I just do long and triple jump.
Gopher Hole: Have you done a lot of meets with the weather situation and how have you done this year?
Sandy Cohen: Actually, a lot of meets have gotten cancelled, but the weather here is getting nice, so we have been making up a lot of our track meets. I haven’t lost yet.
Gopher Hole: What has been your best jumps so far this season?
Sandy Cohen: My best jump for the long jump is 21 feet and 11 inches and my best jump for the triple jump is 44 feet and four inches.
Gopher Hole: Did you make it to sections or state last year?
Sandy Cohen: Last year, I made it to state. I did not take top seven. I think I took tenth.
Gopher Hole: Is that a goal to get even farther this year?
Sandy Cohen: I don’t know. Track isn’t really a big sport for me. I just do it for fun because a lot of my friends are in it. It is not as a big deal for me, so it doesn’t matter as much.
Gopher Hole: Have you even thought about when you might decide on a college or is that still pretty far away?
Sandy Cohen: I haven’t really decided yet. I just want to go on a couple of visits and see what I like.
Sandy Cohen Having Big AAU Season, Has Gophers Offer, Will Visit U Campus in May
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/252691?referrer_id=331171
Sandy Cohen, a 6-foot-5 guard from Seymour (WI) High, has been one of the hottest name on the AAU circuit this spring. Cohen, who plays for the Wisconsin Playground Elite, recently received a scholarship offer from Minnesota and plans to visit the campus later this month.
Cohen averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds per game for a Seymour squad that went 20-5, losing to Pulaski 45-39 in the WIAA sectionals. He scored in double figures in 20 of 23 games with a season-best 30 points versus Notre Dame. Cohen was an unanimous first-team all-Bay Conference selection as a junior.
Gopher Hole.com caught up with Cohen Wednesday afternoon to learn the latest on his strong AAU season and his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: If I had told you a month ago that you would be hearing from some of the schools that are contacting you, like Minnesota and Marquette among others, what would you have thought?
Sandy Cohen: I would have said that I thought that you were probably just joking around and being sarcastic and messing with me. Nobody thought that this would be a reality.
Gopher Hole: It has to make you pretty proud that all your hard work to continue to improve yourself has paid off.
Sandy Cohen: Yes. I am really excited. I have been in the gym a lot and I am just glad that it is finally paying off.
Gopher Hole: What schools are you hearing from right now?
Sandy Cohen: I am hearing from Minnesota, Marquette, Memphis, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Providence, Auburn, Clemson. Just a lot of schools.
Gopher Hole: How many scholarship offers are you up to right now?
Sandy Cohen: I have seven. I have one from UWGB, North Dakota, George Washington, Minnesota, Marquette, Memphis and LaSalle.
Gopher Hole: Are most of the offers fairly recent?
Sandy Cohen: Yes. Minnesota, Memphis and Marquette are all from last weekend.
Gopher Hole: Most of those coaches have watched you the past two weekends in the EYBL. Have you noticed those coaches watching you or do you try not to?
Sandy Cohen: I have seen all the college coaches at the games. It kind of makes me nervous, but I just try to play my game.
Gopher Hole: When you make a good play do you look up at the coaches or when you make a bad play, do you try not to look up at where the coaches are sitting or do you try not to even worry about that?
Sandy Cohen: Actually, during the game, I kind of forget the all the college coaches are there, especially when it is a close game. I really don’t think about that as much. It kind of just fades away.
Gopher Hole: What things have you really been working on to continue to improve yourself as a player?
Sandy Cohen: I have been waking up at six in the morning to go and shoot at the high school. I have been working out a lot; working out in the gym after high school and in the weight room.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a player?
Sandy Cohen: I would say how versatile I am. I can play pretty much any position from the one to the three.
Gopher Hole: What positions are most teams looking at you playing in college or do they like the fact, like you said, that you can play more than one position?
Sandy Cohen: A lot of college coaches want me to play the point or the two guard.
Gopher Hole: Do you think that makes you a little more valuable that you can play more than one position?
Sandy Cohen: I think it does because coaches can think that I am interchangeable. I can either play point or here. I can play point guard or the point if he is not in the game at the time.
Gopher Hole: What is going to make you pick School A over School B or C?
Sandy Cohen: I would say just the coach that I really liked. That would probably help my decision a lot.
Gopher Hole: Have you had a lot of colleges stop by your high school or have home visits recently?
Sandy Cohen: No, not recently. It is a dead period right now. They are not able to come. Some schools want me to come on unofficial visits to go to their college.
Gopher Hole: What schools have asked you about doing that?
Sandy Cohen: Kentucky, Minnesota, Marquette and George Washington.
Gopher Hole: Have you even had a chance to visit many college campuses in the past?
Sandy Cohen: No. I’ve only been to two college, UWGB and UW-Milwaukee.
Gopher Hole: What has the reaction been with your friends and family with all the attention that you have gotten recently?
Sandy Cohen: Everyone is really excited for me. It is kind of like a new thing at my high school. We’ve never had a player go major D1. Everyone is excited and it is the buzz around town. It is kind of cool. My mom is really happy for me.
Gopher Hole: What are the expectations for your high school team next year?
Sandy Cohen: Probably a state championship.
Gopher Hole: How far did you make this past year?
Sandy Cohen: Sectionals. We were a game or two away from state.
Gopher Hole: Is that a motivating factor having gotten so close to get even farther next year?
Sandy Cohen: Oh, yes it definitely is. We were young. We have had the same group since my sophomore year. Every year, we are getting closer and closer. I think that next year should be our year. Everyone has been working really hard and I think next year is our year.
Gopher Hole: How many starters are you going to have back next year?
Sandy Cohen: We’ll have four of our five starters.
Gopher Hole: You play on a Wisconsin Playground Elite team that has another good junior, Rashad Vaughn. What has it been like playing with him?
Sandy Cohen: He is a great player. He can make people better by his passing. People double him, he can find the open player. He’s really just a good all-around player.
Gopher Hole: Has he been able to practice with you much since he is from Minnesota? Or has it been mostly playing in the events?
Sandy Cohen: Sometimes we have practice on the weekdays and he doesn’t go to those, but when we have practice (at Whitefish Bay Dominican) on the weekends, he makes it down to those.
Gopher Hole: You played for the Wisconsin Blaze and the Wisconsin Jets last year. What has it been like to play on a bigger circuit like the EYBL?
Sandy Cohen: It is such a big difference. Everyone else is just way more competitive and the game is played at such a high speed and everything is a lot more intense. It is so much different. It is kind of hard to put it into words. That is how much different it is playing on a normal circuit with the Jets or the Blaze and moving to the EYBL. It is a big difference.
Gopher Hole: I think that you have been pretty open about your past and I have read a little bit about it. I know that you have had some troubles in the past. What was that all about?
Sandy Cohen: I don’t know. It was about me living more in the city and not going to school so much and stuff like that.
Gopher Hole: I know that you have done a really good job academically to try to make up for your freshman year. Is that something that you are pretty proud of how hard, not only have you worked to improve yourself as a player, but also academically?
Sandy Cohen: Yes. I would say that it is a little easier to improve on the court than it is in school.
Gopher Hole: Have you taken the ACT or SAT yet for college?
Sandy Cohen: No. I take my Act June 8th.
Gopher Hole: You feel that with all the work that you have done that you should be eligible as a freshman, right?
Sandy Cohen: Definitely.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from Minnesota?
Sandy Cohen: Minnesota, they offered me a full ride. They want me to go on a visit after my AAU tournament in Minnesota (Memorial Day weekend).
Gopher Hole: Is that something you are looking forward to taking a visit to the college while you are up here?
Sandy Cohen: Yes. That is the plan.
Gopher Hole: I know that Marquette has offered you a scholarship and that they are one of the in-state schools. What do you like about them?
Sandy Cohen: The one thing I like about Marquette is how close they are and I think that people could come watch me from my hometown. I like the way they play and I think that Buzz Williams is a really good coach.
Gopher Hole: Are you hearing much from Wisconsin yet? Have they gotten involved with you yet. I know that they don’t have a lot of scholarship available for 2014.
Sandy Cohen: Actually, I have never received a phone call or a text or anything of interest from Wisconsin.
Gopher Hole: You had a good first week in the EYBL, going 3-1 before going 1-4 in Hampton. You are off this weekend before playing in the EYBL event in Dallas (May 10-12). I know that one of the goals for all the Nike teams is to make it to the Peach Jan in July. What are your expectations?
Sandy Cohen: Our goal isn’t to necessarily to win every game, but our main goal is to make it to the Peach Jam and be at least top five in our pool (the top five team qualify).
Gopher Hole: In the past, you used to play football. Are you planning on playing this upcoming season? Are you playing any other sports at Seymour?
Sandy Cohen: I was a three-sport athlete. I did football, basketball and track all the other years, but my senior year, I don’t think that I will be doing football. I think that I will still do track. I don’t do any running events. I just do long and triple jump.
Gopher Hole: Have you done a lot of meets with the weather situation and how have you done this year?
Sandy Cohen: Actually, a lot of meets have gotten cancelled, but the weather here is getting nice, so we have been making up a lot of our track meets. I haven’t lost yet.
Gopher Hole: What has been your best jumps so far this season?
Sandy Cohen: My best jump for the long jump is 21 feet and 11 inches and my best jump for the triple jump is 44 feet and four inches.
Gopher Hole: Did you make it to sections or state last year?
Sandy Cohen: Last year, I made it to state. I did not take top seven. I think I took tenth.
Gopher Hole: Is that a goal to get even farther this year?
Sandy Cohen: I don’t know. Track isn’t really a big sport for me. I just do it for fun because a lot of my friends are in it. It is not as a big deal for me, so it doesn’t matter as much.
Gopher Hole: Have you even thought about when you might decide on a college or is that still pretty far away?
Sandy Cohen: I haven’t really decided yet. I just want to go on a couple of visits and see what I like.
Hopefully Coach Pitino will change that. A class of Travis,Vaughn and anyone else would be awesome. Cohen did seem very high on Minnesota . No Wisconsin interest Ole?
