Chris Cokley

Chris Cokley

Free agent
Position	Power forward
Personal information
Born	(1996-07-27) July 27, 1996 (age 28) Savannah, Georgia
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	229 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school	Savannah (Savannah, Georgia)
College	UAB (2014–2018)
NBA draft	2018: undrafted
Playing career	2018–present
Career history
2018–2019	Cherkaski Mavpy
2019	Rabotnički
2019–2020	BC Khimik
2020–2021	AB Contern
2021	AS Douanes
2021–2022	BKM Lučenec
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-Conference USA (2018)

Chris Cokley (born July 27, 1996) is an American basketball player who last played for AS Douanes of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He competed in college for the UAB Blazers.

Early life

Cokley is the son of Angela Green and he grew up on the east side of Savannah, Georgia. He first began playing basketball at the age of five and learned the game at the Blackshear Community Center. Cokley developed into a star at Savannah High School, where he was coached by Tim Jordan. He led the team to the GHSA Class 5A finals as a sophomore. As a junior, he passed out in a state quarterfinal game against Washington County High School and missed the semifinal game, but returned in the state finals.^[1]

College career

Cokley was recruited to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where he earned regular minutes on a Blazers team that reached the NCAA Tournament as a No. 14 seed and defeated No. 3 seed Iowa State in the first round of the tournament.^[1] As a sophomore, Cokley partnered with William Lee in the frontcourt to win the C-USA regular-season championship and set a school record with 26 wins.^[2] Cokley posted 13.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore and was selected to the Second Team All-Conference USA.^[3] in 2016 Cokley averaged 12.1 points per game as a junior, second on the team to Lee.^[4] As a senior, Cokley averaged 16.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game and started 29 of 32 games.^[5] He was named to the First Team All-Conference USA.^[6] Cokley finished third all-time in UAB history in scoring (1,660) and second in rebounding (857). After his senior season, he was invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.^[7]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Cokley was signed by the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA Summer League.^[5] Cokley signed his first professional contract with the German team Rasta Vechta on July 30, 2018.^[8] However, he left the team on September 9, before appearing in any games.^[9] On September 16, Cokley signed with Ukrainian club Cherkaski Mavpy.^[10]

On September 10, 2019, he has signed with Rabotnički of the Macedonian First League.^[11] Few weeks later, he left the club. Cokley joined BC Khimik in Ukraine. On February 24, 2020, Cokley joined AB Contern in Luxembourg.^[12]

In April 2021, Cokley signed with the Senegalese club AS Douanes to play in the 2021 BAL season.^[13]

On November 24, 2021, he joined BKM Lučenec of the Slovak Basketball League (SBL).^[14]

The Basketball Tournament

Cokley played for the Texas Matadors in The Basketball Tournament in 2018. He had 20 points in the 82–73 loss to Scarlet and Gray in the Super 16.^[15] Cokley joined Herd That, a team composed primarily of Marshall alumni, in The Basketball Tournament 2020.^[16] He scored 32 points in a 102–99 come-from-behind win over the Money Team in the second round.^[17] Cokley scored 17 points as Herd That fell to Overseas Elite 93–76 in the quarterfinals.^[18]

BAL career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2021	AS Douanes	4	1	17.1	.375	.333	.667	2.8	3.3	1.0	.0	5.8
Career		4	1	17.1	.375	.333	.667	2.8	3.3	1.0	.0	5.8

References

1. Knight, Dennis (January 24, 2018). "Eyes on the prize: Savannah's Chris Cokley pursuing his dreams at UAB". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
2. Scarbinsky, Kevin (January 26, 2018). "William Lee and Chris Cokley, UAB's twin pillars, aren't done yet". The Birmingham News. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
3. Hawes, Don (October 6, 2016). "UAB men's basketball team voted Conference USA preseason favorite". WVTM 13. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
4. Belot, Hans (March 1, 2017). "Men's basketball preview: FAU looking to climb up standings, to visit UAB and Middle Tennessee". University Press. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
5. "Hornets' Chris Cokley: Secures summer league invite". CBS Sports. June 26, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
6. "MBB: C-USA Announces All-Conference Teams". Conference USA. March 5, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
7. Sulkowski, Frank (April 9, 2018). "Chris Cokley invited to Portsmouth Invitational Tournament". WJCL 22. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
8. "Rasta Vechta signs rookie Chris Cokley". Sportando. Retrieved August 9, 2018.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
9. "Chris Cokley, Rasta Vechta part ways". Sportando. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
10. "Chris Cokley signs with Cherkasy Monkeys". Sportando. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
11. Lupo, Nicola (September 10, 2019). "Chris Cokley signs with KK Rabotnicki". Sportando. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
12. "Chris Cokley (ex Khimik) agreed terms with Contern". Eurobasket. February 24, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
13. "L'AS Douanes se renforce et signent quatre recrues pour la Basketball Africa League". wiwsport (in French). 26 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
14. "Chris Cokley v BKM Lučenec končí". BKM Lučenec (in Slovak). Retrieved 2022-08-08.
15. "Buckeye Basketball: Scarlet & Gray advance to TBT Super 16 thanks to Sullinger". Fox 28. July 22, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
16. Traylor, Grant (June 28, 2020). "Herd That banking on chemistry to push team through The Basketball Tournament". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
17. Brocato, Joe (July 9, 2020). "Spirited rally lifts Herd That into TBT quarterfinals". WV Metro News. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
18. Brocato, Joe (July 11, 2020). "Herd That's run ends in TBT quarterfinals". WV Metro News. Retrieved July 13, 2020.

External links

• UAB Blazers bio