Sandy Cohen has caught the attention of coaches across the country.
The 6-foot-5 point guard came into this year’s Amateur Athletic Union season with two scholarship offers. He now has more than 10.
Cohen — a junior point guard at Seymour High School in Wisconsin — played in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League with his AAU team — Wisconsin Playground Elite — this spring.
Since the league started, he’s picked up offers from Auburn, Minnesota, Memphis and Marquette, he said.
Currently labeled a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, the site recently posted a list of its top-15 unranked prospects — which included Cohen — and said the following:
One of the better finds of the spring, Cohen will likely enter the rankings as a four-star. He has great size at nearly 6-foot-5, can handle the ball very well and is a gifted passer. The game seems to come easy to him and how high he can rise in the rankings will depend a lot on how good of a shooter/finisher he proves to be.
The Gophers staff is making a concerted effort to attract Cohen.
“I talk to [Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino] at least once or twice a week,” Cohen said, “but I keep in contact with assistants probably daily.”
Building relationships is important to Cohen during the recruiting process.
“I think it’s really important — that’s probably the most important thing is a place where I feel comfortable,” Cohen said, “if I find a coach that I really like and I know he’ll be there all four years that I’m at the college.”
Cohen thinks Pitino’s up-and-down style suites his game.
“I think that fits perfect,” he said. “I like up-tempo, quick pace — that’s really cool — I like that.”
Cohen plays with fellow Gopher target and the No. 6 recruit in the class of 2014 by Rivals — Rashad Vaughn — on Playground Elite. Cohen said the two don’t discuss the potential of playing with one another at the next level.
“We really don’t talk about that too much but that’d be nice,” he said. “He’s a great player and I’d be lucky to play with him in the college level.”
While he’s still receiving offers, Cohen said the Gophers are “definitely” in his top five list of colleges.
