By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
With a 6-foot-9 and 225-pound frame, Eastside Catholic’s Jacob Cofie has emerged as a top prospect in the class of 2024, both locally and nationally. Cofie, a junior forward for the Crusaders, has managed to become a nightmare for Metro League and AAU basketball opponents.
Cofie’s ability to create for himself and his teammates with his ball handling, scoring inside with a soft touch around the rim or aggressively dunking the ball. He also is able to shoot from midrange and the three-point line, and has the ability to guard positions one through five. With all of these intangibles, Cofie shows why he is ranked 20th nationally, second here in the state of Washington, and a four-star prospect according to ESPN.com
Being noticed on both a local but national level, Cofie expressed, “it is very encouraging to see that my hard work is getting noticed locally and nationally. It only pushes me to get better to be the best I can be.”
“I do my best to stay focused since it’s only the beginning,” Cofie explained. “Keeping up with my schoolwork, practice, and games leaves little time to get distracted.”
In an evaluation from Brooks Scouting Report, Cofie was described by Dominique Brooks as having, “the size, strength, athleticism, and all the physical gifts to play high-level basketball.”
“Expect to see a true inside-outside prospect that has the ability to rebound, start the break, and can knock down open three-pointers,” says Brooks. “Jacob’s skillset allows him to make plays off the dribble for teammates. The defensive versatility of guarding multiple positions and rim protection are high major good.”
As a sophomore, Cofie had an impressive season as he helped the Crusaders advance to last year’s state tournament with his dominant play. Cofie followed up by playing for Seattle Rotary in the summer where he was their second-leading scorer while shooting 53% from the field and led the team in rebounding. In addition to that on the defensive end, he averaged a steal and one block per game.
“I’m very excited about playing with Seattle Rotary in the Nike EYBL, always played up in the EYBL so this will be my first time playing with the class of 2024,” said Cofie. “It will be an entirely different team for me so I hope we have the right chemistry to help us show up well for Seattle and win.”
Last June, Cofie played with his Eastside Catholic team and notoriety began to grow at a high school event in Phoenix called ‘Section 7’. Playing against other ranked players and high school teams, Cofie would dominate throughout the course of the tournament. Whether he was scoring, facilitating, or standing firm on the defensive end, Cofie left the event establishing himself as the class of 2024’s top prospects for college coaches to keep their eyes on.
“I think I’ve definitely established myself as one of the top “bigs” because I’m mobile for my height, can hit jump shots and I can push the ball up the court if needed,” said Cofie.
Last summer, Cofie received his first college scholarship from his hometown school — the University of Washington, and since that time he has continued to have scholarship offers from across the country rolling in.
“I received my first offer at Section 7 in Arizona from the University of Washington, in addition to other division one schools the same day,” said Cofie. “I was so excited I almost cried.”
In addition to the University of Washington, the University of Montana, Ohio State University, Washington State University, University of Colorado, University of California Los Angeles, and Oregon University all followed suit by offering Cofie scholarships. With seven scholarships and counting, Cofie remains grounded, stating, “I am humbled and grateful for all the division one offers I have received so far.”
With multiple college options on the table and no rush on making a college decision just yet, Cofie knows what he’s focused on as he looks into these institutions.
“A school that provides good education,” Cofie reflects. “And has a great basketball program and is also diverse.”
So far during his junior season, Cofie has picked up where he’s left off from last year. Whether it’s him being a focal point in Eastside Catholic winning 12 games, guarding the opposing teams’ best player, or putting up great individual statistics such as scoring 35 points in a game against Fairfax, Cofie has let his presence be known. Nonetheless, Eastside Catholic, now 8-5 in the Metro League, are currently a sixth seed, and with the postseason arriving, they’ll be looking to lean on their big man to keep them focused on securing a championship.
Given the circumstances, Cofie has carved out a well-rounded high school career, and as this chapter is nearing the end considering he’ll have a year left once this season concludes.
When asked how he would like to be remembered once his high school career was all said and done, Cofie responded by saying, “I would like to be remembered as one of the best high school players from the state of Washington.”
