Phil Cofer Explained

Phil Cofer
Position:Power forward
Height Ft:6
Height In:8
Weight Lbs:230
Team:Free agent
Nationality:American
Birth Date:19 June 1996
Birth Place:Atlanta, Georgia
High School:Whitewater
(Fayetteville, Georgia)
College:Florida State (2014–2019)
Draft Year:2019
Career Start:2019
Years1:2019–2020
Team1:College Park Skyhawks
Years2:2020
Team2:Long Island Nets
Years3:2020
Team3:Memphis Hustle
Years4:2021
Team4:Antwerp Giants

Philip Cofer (born June 19, 1996) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles.

Early life and high school career

Cofer is the son of NFL linebacker Mike Cofer. Phil attended Whitewater High School. As a senior, he averaged 19.3 points, 12.8 rebounds and three blocked shots per game in 24 games. He had a season-high 35 point game. He signed with Florida State on May 19, 2014, after decommitting from Tennessee due to the departure of coach Cuonzo Martin. ESPN listed Cofer as the nation's No. 56 player in his class and assigned him a four-star rating.[1]

College career

Cofer averaged 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a freshman, making 24 starts. As a sophomore, he played in only 11 games due to a foot injury that shortened his season.[2] When he came back as a junior, he still had not recovered from the lingering effects of the injury, and averaged 2.9 points per game. Cofer greatly improved his ballhandling, three-point shooting and scoring as a senior. "I'm not really sure, I've had another player that I've coached that has made an improvement from one year to another," coach Leonard Hamilton said.[3] He had a career-high 28 points in a 100–93 loss to Duke on December 30, 2017.[4]

As a senior, Cofer led the Seminoles with 12.8 points per game, averaged 5.1 rebounds and played a team-high 29.3 minutes per game and was the only Florida State player to start all 35 games. He was an important piece of the Seminoles' run to the Elite Eight. On May 25, 2018, he was granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA due to his injury-shortened sophomore season.[5]

Cofer missed the first nine games of the 2018–19 season with a broken foot. He missed the NCAA tournament opening-round win over Vermont with a foot injury. After the game, he was informed that his father had died, and he missed the rest of the tournament to be with his family.[6] He averaged 7.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as Florida State went 29–8 and reached the Sweet 16 in Cofer's redshirt senior season.[7]

Professional career

Following the close of his college career, Cofer signed with the College Park Skyhawks of the NBA G League.[8] He averaged 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in 23 games. He was waived by the Skyhawks on February 10, 2020.[9] Cofer was acquired by the Long Island Nets, but was waived on February 23 after appearing in one game.[10] On February 28, Cofer was acquired by the Memphis Hustle from the available player pool.[11]

On March 4, 2021, Cofer signed with Telenet Giants Antwerp of the Belgian League.[12] On December 4, 2021, Antwerp Giants announced it had reached an agreement with Cofer to terminate his contract.[13]

Career statistics

College

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15| style="text-align:left;"| Florida State| 33 || 24 || 22.3 || .456 || .400 || .632 || 4.5 || .2 || .3 || .6 || 6.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16| style="text-align:left;"| Florida State| 11 || 4 || 12.0 || .565 || .000 || .842 || 2.0 || .2 || .4 || .3 || 3.8|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2016–17| style="text-align:left;"| Florida State| 32 || 2 || 12.5 || .452 || .375 || .600 || 1.9 || .2 || .1 || .1 || 2.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18| style="text-align:left;"| Florida State| 35 || 35 || 29.3 || .486 || .375 || .691 || 5.1 || .7 || .5 || .2 || 12.8|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19| style="text-align:left;"| Florida State| 22 || 19 || 26.2 || .391 || .349 || .571 || 3.5 || .8 || .1 || .1 || 7.4|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 133 || 84 || 21.6 || .459 || .366 || .662 || 3.7 || .4 || .3 || .3 || 7.3

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Schoffel . Ira . FSU men's basketball signs 4-star Georgia recruit . July 19, 2018 . . May 19, 2014.
  2. News: May 25, 2018 . NCAA grants Florida State's Phil Cofer additional year of eligibility . April 8, 2024 . . Associated Press.
  3. News: March 2, 2018 . Florida State forward Phil Cofer hopes to keep playing for the team . April 8, 2024 . . Associated Press.
  4. News: December 30, 2017 . Bagley, No. 4 Duke outlast No. 24 FSU, 100-93 . April 8, 2024 . . Associated Press.
  5. News: Weiler . Kurt . Florida State's Phil Cofer granted fifth year of eligibility by NCAA . July 19, 2018 . . May 25, 2018.
  6. News: Meehan . Jim . Florida State forward Phil Cofer, grieving loss of father, not expected to play against Gonzaga . January 23, 2020 . . March 25, 2019.
  7. News: McGahee . Wayne . What will Florida State men's basketball look like next season? . April 4, 2019 . . March 29, 2019.
  8. Web site: College Park Skyhawks Announce Training Camp Roster . NBA.com . November 17, 2019 . October 29, 2019.
  9. News: Phil Cofer: Waived by Skyhawks . March 5, 2020 . . February 10, 2020.
  10. News: Long Island Nets Waive Phil Cofer . March 5, 2020 . NBA.com . February 23, 2020.
  11. News: Langham . Geoff . Memphis Hustle acquire Phil Cofer . March 5, 2020 . NBA.com . February 28, 2020.
  12. News: Phil Cofer finds pro job in Europe. March 7, 2021. LatestBasketballNews.com. March 7, 2021.
  13. News: Phil Cofer alweer weg bij Giants . 5 December 2021 . ATV – Antwerpse televisie . nl-nl.