Nicolet High School senior Alex Cohen, a member of the varsity basketball squad, is one of the nearly 2,000 nominees announced for the 2011 McDonald's All American Games.
That’s 2,000 people vying for 24 available positions on the girls’ team, which will compete in March.
The 10th annual Girls Game will tip off on March 30, at 6:30 p.m. CT inside the famed United Center in Chicago, Ill.
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Cohen will attend Northwestern in the fall on a basketball scholarship.
“Although being a McDonald’s All American was a goal for me when I was younger, my priorities changed when I realized that Nicolet was building towards a special year," Cohen said. "I didn’t even realize I’d made the list until a friend told me.”
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McDonald’s will name the final roster during the 2011 McDonald’s All American Selection Show on ESPNU, airing Feb. 10, at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Cohen was a member of the elite training program Pacesetter Basketball since she was a freshman. “Three of the girls with Pacesetter's made the list,” she said. “We’d talked about possibly being nominated in the past but did not know if we would make it.”
Cohen is familiar with a lot of the Wisconsin and Illinois nominees. “Many of the girls that I’ve met and played against are on the list. Players like Morgan Jones, another girl going to Northwestern next year.”
Most of the discussion about the nomination has been reserved for family as the team is more focused about getting to the state championship. “It’s all about bringing the gold ball back to Nicolet.”
Basketball has given Cohen the opportunity to travel all over the world, and make lifelong friends. “Being part of the final 24 players on the McDonald's All American team would be wonderful due to the time spent with the children at the Ronald McDonald House of Chicago. I understand that the teams spent a lot of time with the children and families that are living there while they go through treatments at local hospitals.”
“The Nicolet girls' basketball program is very proud to have one of our players nominated,” said head basketball coach Corey Wolf. “Alex has put in a lot of time to improve her basketball game and place her among the elite girls basketball players in the country."
Cohen's father said he noticed his daughter’s passion for the game beginning in the eighth grade. “She’d play seven days a week if she could,” said Rob Cohen. “We had to hide her basketball shoes in August so she could heal.”
He says while this is a great honor, basketball is not all Cohen is about. “Four years ago, Alex organized the building of a playground for an inner city special needs school. She fund raised, she managed the workforce of friends, family, and members of the community.”
There’s been a lot of attention focused on Cohen with her scholarship to Northwestern and her presence on the court for the Knights. “We, as a family, help her realize while the attention is great, we still make her do the dishes with her sister.”
