Maccabi Tel Aviv has been home to many great basketball players over the years. From Miki Berkovic to Tal Brody, from Derrick Sharp to Nadav Henefeld, and from Tal Burstein to Guy Pnini, among many others, the yellow-and-blue have always had a terrific mix of players who have made their impact on the club.
Two more players who are now also part of that prestigious list are Jake Cohen and John DiBartolomeo, who were honored this week for having played 500 games in a Maccabi Tel Aviv uniform.
Prior to the club’s quarterfinal clash against Ness Ziona, the pair of naturalized Israelis from the US were feted by the fans as they received a special framed jersey emblazoned with the number 500 on the back, acknowledging their accomplishment.
Following the game, Cohen opened up about his career, his special evening, and offered his reflections on his time as a member of Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“The first thing that I think about when it comes to these things is how grateful I am,” the Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, native began.
“It’s a position of privilege that I’ve been in to play for this club for such a long time and to share all these memories with such great people. It’s not only the championships that I cherish – obviously, they are really special – but also the hard times too. Going through difficult times with great people is really a special experience too, and nothing encapsulates that more than the last two years, what we’ve gone through as a team. That’s been really special to be a part of.
“To share the night with John, who is deserving of so much – a night of his own, to be honest – was really cool, because he’s my brother in so many ways, and he is a really special person. He has gotten me through so many tough times, just being a great friend. To have my wife and children out there to share a moment like that – how many people get the opportunity to do that? That picture is going to be in the Cohen household for a very long time and hopefully for generations to come. It’s hard to wrap my head around it.”
Fortunate to play the game that he loves
At 34 years old, Cohen understands that his playing career may be coming to a close in the near future, perhaps even after this season, and he is well aware of how fortunate he has been for more than a decade to be able to play the game that he loves.
“I think I have one of the best jobs in the world. I get to come to work with amazing people, and I get to play the sport that I love and that I have devoted my life to. I don’t know how much longer it will be, but whatever it is I want to take every moment as it comes, be grateful, be present, and just cherish it because who knows how much longer it will last?”
The Davidson Wildcats product joined Maccabi Tel Aviv after he graduated college in 2013 and soon thereafter was loaned out to Maccabi Rishon Lezion. After a season back in yellow-and-blue, Cohen headed to Greece, and when he returned, he featured for Maccabi Ashdod during the 2016/17 campaign. From there, it was back to Maccabi Tel Aviv for three years, where he captured a trio of league championships before playing a season in Spain. Once again, in 2021, it was back to the Holy Land, where he took home another pair of titles.
“Family is the best answer for me,” Cohen said about what Maccabi Tel Aviv means to him. “They have been with me since the start of my career. I remember a scout came to see me at the Portsmouth Invitational in April of 2013. He came to me after one of the games and said, ‘Good game, we’ll be talking to you,’ and now look at me 12 years later. It’s crazy.”
“Now I had this pregame ceremony, and I had my two kids with me. That’s life, and it’s a special thing. Like all families, we had hard parts –I was released by Maccabi three times, and I’m still here. It’s a special place nonetheless. I am so fortunate. How many guys get to spend their career at a Euroleague club like this? It’s not lost on me.”
Focused on the task at hand
Over the years, Cohen has been in the starting lineup both in the Euroleague and the Israeli competition. He has also come off the bench, and there have been plenty of games where he played very sparingly or not at all. But regardless of how many minutes he was on the court, Cohen always made sure to keep himself levelheaded and focused on the task at hand.
“That’s part of the job. It’s not guaranteed that you start, and it’s not guaranteed that you play. The only thing you can do is help the team as much as you can when you are out there, and it’s up to the coach to determine how much I will play. If I worry about things that are outside of my control, I am not doing my job properly.
“I think that this is something that I have come to learn at this age after over 500 games. You’ve got to worry about what you can control; otherwise, you are going to drive yourself crazy… What the coach decides to do, that’s his job; that’s why he gets paid. He’s good at his job, too. I need to make sure his job is difficult and he has to play me and has to play all of my other teammates because everyone’s playing great. We need to give him those problems. It’s really just about mindset
After Maccabi Tel Aviv punched its ticket to the semifinals with a 3-0 sweep of Ness Ziona, it is now awaiting the winner of the Bnei Herzliya and Hapoel Holon clash. Should it advance to the finals, it will face either Hapoel Tel Aviv or Hapoel Jerusalem, both of whom will be very tough opponents in the championship series for the reigning yellow-and-blue.
With that, Cohen offered his thoughts on what would be the key as the postseason continues.
“It’s a big challenge, and it’s really easy to look too far ahead because Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem are both really talented teams. But no matter who we play next, whether it’s Bnei Herzliya or Hapoel Holon, they are really talented too. So we need to take this break to continue to improve, not get complacent. And it’s only a best-of-3, so each game takes on even greater meaning.
“But I think it’s up to me and John and the other veterans to make sure our guys are focused on the task ahead, not get too far ahead and not get too cocky. It’s definitely going to be a challenge, but I think we are up for it.”