ABOUT COZY.
Real basketball for me started in the summer of 2008. I was 5. My parents decided it was time to graduate from mini and portable hoops to a full-size hoop that my Grandma Williams bought my brother CJ and I.
My Dad painted a key and 3-point line on the driveway and immediately hid the tool that you need to lower the rim. It was time to learn to play the game the real way.
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I started playing basketball in my hometown of Victor, NY when I was 5 in the town recreation programs, and later went on to play Victor Travel Basketball until I was in the 8th grade.
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AAU basketball started for me when I was in 4th grade on Flower City Elite. Coach Major, one of the best coaches I ever played for, coached a team made up of kids that lived mostly in the City of Rochester.
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When I wasn't playing for Coach Major, I played for whatever team needed a big guy that weekend including many games with RAP, Southtown Select, and Niagara.
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In January of 2015 I was selected to play at the Melo Pearl Classic at Terminal 23 in New York City.
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The former 1920’s ballroom and nightclub was transformed into a full-size basketball court and locker rooms to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Carmelo Anthony signing with Jordan Brand.
To date, this is one of the coolest basketball experiences I have been part of.
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I get asked all of the time if I played other sports. Over the years, I have played soccer, hockey, lacrosse, baseball, football, and of course basketball.
I started playing basketball for Victor as a 7th grader on MOD A (Freshman) Basketball. As a freshman I started the season on JV and was moved up to Varsity mid-season.
My freshman year we were 6-15 and 7-17 my sophomore year. I learned a lot about basketball and life in these seasons.
Junior year we were 20-2 and lost in the sectional semi-finals.
My senior year we played a shortened spring COVID season and finished 11-2 and making it to the sectional finals.
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Coach Tyler Roberts was a first-year varsity coach my freshman year at Victor. From the day he moved me up from JV to Varsity, no coach has ever believed in me more than Coach Roberts.
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Looking at my size, everyone has an opinion. But with Coach Roberts, he never once talked about what I couldn't do, it was always what I COULD do, and his belief made me into the player I am today.
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Because of my size, everyone always assumed I would play football in college, and even though I had scholarship offers to play D2 football in college, my heart was always on the basketball court.
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In January 2021, I decided to follow my heart instead of everyone else’s expectations. I visited St. John Fisher to meet with their basketball coaches and learn more about their program.
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That same night, I made the tough but clear decision: I called the football coaches and told them I had a change of heart. I was going to play college basketball.
Football was something I liked, but basketball was what I loved.
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During my freshman year at St. John Fisher, going 'viral' was the last thing I ever imagined.
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My size has always drawn attention, but nothing could have prepared me for the whirlwind that followed a single Barstool Sports tweet that changed everything.
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Let’s be real: I went viral because of my size and the stereotype that someone who looks like me isn’t ‘supposed’ to play basketball.
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But life doesn’t come with a one-size-fits-all mold. We’re all built differently. Every day, athletes hear what they can’t do—too big, too short, too slow, too different to fit the so-called ‘ideal.’
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I’m sharing my story to show anyone who’s ever felt like they’re ‘too this’ or ‘too that’ that none of that defines you.
Believe in yourself and remember: YES, YOU CAN.
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Keep pushing forward,
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​Big Cozy
#50
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2024-2025 - USBWA Rochester Area Men's DII-DII 1st Team
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2024-2025 - D3 Data 50th Most Efficient Player in NCAA D3 Basketball
2024-25 - St. John Fisher University Men's Basketball Team Captain
2021 - Victor High School - 1st Team All-Greater Rochester, Daily Messenger Player of the Year, Monroe County Division 1 Player of the Year, Monroe County Division 1 1st Team All-Star
2020 - Victor High School - 1st Team All-Greater Rochester, 1st Team Daily Messenger All-Star, Monroe County Division 1 1st Team All-Star
2019 - Victor High School -Monroe County Division 1 2nd Team All Star