Cohee shoots to top of scoring
Langley native shot baskets every night when he found himself in a town with nothing else to do
Most people in Cedar City, a small community of 30,000 people in south eastern Utah, don’t drink alcohol. Or coffee, for that matter.
Its population — one that’s 92-per-cent white — heavily skews toward those of the Mormon faith, and its tourism bureau touts two museums — the Southern Utah Museum of Art and the Frontier Homestead State Park Museum — as its two headline attractions.
“It’s the most boring place in the world,” said Jadon Cohee, laughing. “It was an interesting experience, to say the least.”
The Langley native spent two years in Cedar City playing for the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds men’s basketball team before returning home to B.C., where he now plays for another Thunderbirds squad.
The Walnut Grove grad suited up for Seattle University for two seasons before transferring to the Utah school, meaning he had to sit out a season. It turned out to be a blessing in (boring) disguise.
“There were no social events, so every night I’d go to the gym and shoot until I couldn’t shoot anymore,” said the 6-foot-4 guard, who wouldn’t leave the gym until he’d made 500 shots — a sixnight-a-week ritual.
“I wasn’t a very good one coming out of high school. You just have to work for it,” said Cohee, who, as the provincial champ and MVP for the Gators, was a supreme athlete who got to the rim at
will, leaving little need for an outside game. “Shooting, to me, is all confidence and reps. I made myself a shooter.”
In the first 13 games for the UBC T-Birds, the lanky guard
is averaging a team-best 20.3 points, second-most in Canada West and just ahead of teammate Manroop Clair’s 20 points per game.
Both Cohee and Clair — a
close friend whom he played with in Seattle — are averaging just under 40 per cent from three-point range, with the deep-shooting talent they bring a big part of the Thunderbirds’
offence.
“I think it’s safe to say I’ve never had two players who have averaged 20 points a game at the same time. It’s been pretty amazing,” said UBC coach Kevin Hanson. “Jadon is a proven winner, and his IQ is off the charts. Manroop is one of the best shooters this province has ever produced. Having those two guys, I feel very fortunate. But as great as those guys have been, I don’t think those guys have hit their peak as to what they’re going to do for us.”
The Thunderbirds, winners of six straight games, take on the Mt. Royal Cougars this Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (7 p.m.) at War Memorial Gym.
Every night I’d go to the gym and shoot until I couldn’t shoot anymore.”
Jadon Cohee