Former Lehigh men’s basketball standout guard Jordan Cohen signed a one-year professional contract with the Israel-based Maccabi Haifa Basketball Club on Thursday.
Cohen, ‘20, led the Mountain Hawks in scoring his senior season, averaging 14.2 points per game and ranking sixth in the Patriot League in three-point percentage, shooting 38.1 percent on 118 attempts. He finished his career in March with 1,301 points and 138 three-pointers made.
After averaging 9.3 points per game as a sophomore, Cohen had a breakout season the following year, eventually being named to the Third-Team All-Patriot League in both his junior and senior seasons.
Cohen was named to the Academic All-Patriot League team for the third straight year as a senior, becoming just the seventh Patriot League men’s basketball player to be named three times.
The Tarzania, California, native will join a Maccabi Haifa squad that competes in Israel’s Premier League. Established in 1954, the club last won the Premier League Championship in 2013, defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“Even when I was a young kid, the goal was to play professionally,” Cohen said. “Obviously the NBA is the first dream, but you don’t always get that, clearly. The goal was always to play professionally afterward and it turned out to be internationally.”
In 2017, Cohen competed in the Maccabiah Games, a Jewish and Israeli multi-sport event held in Israel. He helped guide the U.S. men’s basketball team to a gold medal, averaging 6.2 points as the youngest player on the team.
He said that experience contributed to his decision to sign in Israel.
“Going out there I spent about two and a half, three weeks, and I honestly loved the experience,” Cohen said. “Israel is beautiful, I met some great friends that are actually playing professionally in Israel now. So that definitely will help with the transition.”
Cohen joins Megan Eripret, ‘20, as the second Lehigh basketball player to sign professionally in 2020. Eripret signed with French basketball club Lourdes in May.
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