College Commitment: Dimitri Cohen (2022 Mountainside)

Truth was, Dimitri Cohen Dimitri Cohen 5'11" | CG Mountainside | 2022 State OR had been heavily leaning to Pacific for awhile. The strong 5-foot-10 guard from Mountainside had been on campus, gotten to know the coaches and the players, and liked the fit on the basketball court. With everything a match it was just a matter of making things official so on Thursday night, Cohen picked up the phone to give Boxers head coach Justin Lunt a call to tell him that he would officially like to be a part of the program.

"Coach Lunt and Pacific showed a lot of interest for awhile and I feel like I will get a great opportunity playing there," Cohen said. "It helps that it’s close to home as well. On my visit I got to see how much Lunt and also Coach (Brant) Minor cared about their players and they treated me and my teammate Dez (Baker) great. I loved the campus and got to meet the players there and they are all very cool."

Cohen had made his official visit to campus when he attended Elite Camp a couple of weeks ago. While he was there, he got a feel for the system and style of play and meet with all the guys - including old friend and former Grant guard Luke Winkler, who he’s known from childhood playing ball at The Hoop in Beaverton.

"I like the way these guys play with the whole pick-n-roll offense," Cohen said. "It’s going to be so fun going at it with Luke (Winkler) - he’s such a smart player and I think I can learn a lot from him. I’ve also heard that Coach Lunt is super intense and will get on you and I love to be coached. I’m looking to build a relationship with all of these guys and I love playing with them."

An all-around guard who averaged 13.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.8 steals while shooting 37 percent from three-point range, Cohen was a top priority for Lunt and his staff in this incoming recruiting class. His numbers may not jump off of the page but there’s no question the Pacific coaching staff believes he’ll come in and make a huge impact.

"Honestly my stats weren’t insane as I was just more focused on the team," Cohen said. "It was a team effort as we had five guys that started and any of them could score. I was proud of getting my guys going as they were so talented. I went out there and did what I did."

Cohen was a two-time First Team All-Metro League honoree and this past year, he helped Mountainside reach their first-ever 6A state tournament where they finished in fifth place. It was an incredible experience he will never forget.

"It was awesome and we’re almost legends (laugh) making the run to Chiles and making it to the semis," Cohen said. "It sucks that we couldn’t finish the job in the game against Summit as it was a really off day for us as we couldn’t make shots and they were making everything, so credit to them. But I had so much fun this year with all my guys and it’s going to be hard to leave them behind."

Cohen currently ranks as the #19 player in the PrepHoops Oregon Class of 2022 rankings. Our congratulations go out to him and his family on his commitment.