Graduate forward Kooper Jacobi is 17th in the country in double-doubles averaging 13.2 points per game and 9.5 rebounds, but he had a long journey to get to this point. 

Through the struggles of his college basketball career, Jacobi said he has grown closer in his faith and relationship with Jesus Christ. 

“I’d say the downs more than the ups have taught me to rely on him more, and also the ups to staying strong in him,” Jacobi said.

Jacobi started off his career at Toledo University coming off the bench. During this time with the Rockets, he said he was still thankful for God but he was questioning his decisions. 

“I let my ups and downs affect me so much that I was sometimes trusting in God, you know when it’s going well, and then when things weren’t going well, I’ll be questioning like, ‘Why isn’t this going well?’ I thought this was your plan for me to do well, to contribute to the team,” Jacobi said. 

During his second season, Jacobi didn’t get any playing time at all. He redshirted due to his coach at Toledo recruiting guys over him, he said.

Although, this would allow for an eye-opening experience for him. 

“That was a big learning experience just to remember where basketball is and the importance level and that basketball isn’t everything,” Jacobi said. “Because before that I knew it wasn’t, but I still kind of lived like it based on how I treated things, but during that year, I was like, ‘Man, basketball is a gift that the lord allows us to play that he grants me the opportunity,’ and I don’t want to take it for granted.” 

When Jacobi transferred to Eastern, he said he had a new perspective on things. 

One of his teammates at Eastern, senior forward Rodolfo Bolis, said Jacobi was quiet at first but had a noticeably strong faith. However, once he became more comfortable with the team, Jacobi started to express his faith more. Since then, he has stepped into a leadership role of sharing his faith with the team. 

“We pray before practices, and he is usually the ring leader of that,” assistant coach Kylen Butler said. “We pray before meals at home and on the road, and like I said he’s one to take charge.” 

Butler and Bolis both mentioned that Jacobi’s not afraid to take opportunities to share his faith with others. Butler said when Jacobi is in a position to share the gospel with others, he does so by meeting them where they are at. 

“He does it in a way that you know it doesn’t rub people the wrong way or come off as something that can seem like he’s better than you know he’s always doing it and approaching in an appropriate way,” Butler said. 

One time, Jacobi shared his faith with someone, specifically one of his teammates, and this action stood out to Bolis. 

“A moment that really marked me was when he was explaining about Jesus to one of our old teammates and gave him a Bible,” Bolis said. “That teammate got so impaired about that sometimes I would walk in the locker room and see him very focused reading it and asking Koop [Jacobi] questions about it.” 

Bolis also said Jacobi started an initiative to have team Bible studies.  

“I’ve been going to the Bible studies with Koop [Jacobi] since I got to EIU last year,” senior guard Carson Prost said. “While it isn’t the whole team, you can tell others faith has grown because of Kooper [Jacobi]’s lead, including my own.” 

However, it’s not all been highs since Jacobi transferred to Eastern. 

During his first year as a Panther, he started every game up until he fractured his foot during the 17th game of the season.  

Jacobi said getting hurt was a new learning curve in his relationship with Jesus. One thing his injury made him realize is to not to put basketball too high.

“I still wanted to rely on Jesus through it all and no worry because originally my thought was worried, and I can’t help my team, or what do I do now, or do I come back?” Jacobi said. “So I had to give my worries to the lord.” 

This time would be a big part of helping him realize that God’s plan isn’t always his plan, which is something that he struggled with early on during his college career. 

He said the verse that played a big part in convincing him to trust in God’s plan is Romans 8:28, which says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  

“It was an interesting time that I’m thankful for because I think it allowed me to kind of go back to that verse and remember that his good is not always what we think our good is,” Jacobi said. 

Bolis noticed that at first, the injury had a tough impact on Jacobi especially it being during a win streak but in the end had a positive outcome. 

“I felt like the injury made him close to Jesus,” Bolis said. “I could see that his faith grew in a tough situation, and he started to lead us on doing the same as our team started to struggle a little.” 

Jacobi’s injury and seasons at Toledo have allowed him to grow in his faith. One thing that he said strengthened his relationship with Jesus was letting him take control of his basketball journey. 

“I’m thankful for basketball because it’s taught me a lot, and I think that the biggest thing is that Jesus is in charge, he’s in control,” Jacobi said.

Bolis and Prost both said that Jacobi has made an impact on their faith. 

“Koop [Jacobi] has been a tremendous role model for me with his faith in Jesus Christ,” Prost said. “Being a student athlete, it’s easy to not allocate time for God. Being around Koop [Jacobi] has helped show me that I can along with learning new ways to stay on top of daily readings and prayer.” 

While Bolis said that being roommates with Jacobi has helped him grow closer to Jesus. 

“Me living with Koop [Jacobi] and seeing him handle his faith has made me much closer to Jesus,” Bolis said. “I try to take a page out of his book with some things that he does, and I feel like it has really helped me not only in basketball but in life.”

Bryce Parker can be reached at at 581-2812 or at baparker2@eiu.edu.