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Lehigh head men’s basketball coach Brett Reed has announced the addition of Jabari Trotter and Cooper Handelsman to his staff in the roles of Director of Basketball Operations and Video Coordinator. Trotter comes to Lehigh after extensive basketball experience, most recently at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. Handelsman graduated from Kenyon College this past spring after serving as the starting point guard and team captain for his squad.
Jabari Trotter
“We’re very pleased to have Jabari Trotter join our staff,” said Reed. “He has a tremendous amount of experience as an athlete at an academic institution, as a leader, and has excellent basketball credibility. He also demonstrates a strong work ethic, intelligence and organizational skills. He’ll be a valuable addition to our staff.
Trotter comes to Lehigh from Phillips Exeter Academy (New Hampshire) where he served as boys’ basketball varsity assistant coach. A former Phillips Exeter Academy player himself, he worked with practice preparation, game preparation and travel. Trotter also took part in recruiting, coordinating on-campus tours and off-campus family visits. His basketball experience is extensive, previously working with the Hoops Mountain All-Academic Camp as a trainer, team coach and referee in the summer of 2014. Trotter also worked with Basketball Training Institute as assistant coach and head point guard trainer. He worked in Dublin, Ireland from October, 2012 through May, 2013 with the KUBS u17 Girls Basketball Team, the Lady Haroldites Basketball Team and KUBS Basketball School Program for Inner City Youth.
A four-year starting guard for Dartmouth College, Trotter averaged 6.9 points per game over his career, playing in 112 games with 80 starts. He is tied for the second most games played in Dartmouth Basketball history. Trotter immediately started 28 games as a freshman, averaging seven points per contest. As a junior, he ranked sixth in the Ivy League in three-point field goal percentage (.404). Trotter impressed in the classroom as well, finishing with a 3.10 cumulative GPA and earning his Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Sociology. He was also one of just two Dartmouth student-athletes chosen to be on the board to select the college’s new athletic director.
The starting point guard for Kenyon College, a Division III team in the North Coast Athletic Conference, Handelsman was also team captain as a senior. He consistently finished among the conference leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio and was second in the NCAC in assists per game in 2014-15. Handelsman took a leadership role in offseason lifting, conditioning and on-court workouts. He finished his career among the program’s single-game and season leaders in assists, which includes holding the top two spots for assists in a game.
Cooper Handelsman
Despite just recently graduating, Handelsman already has significant coaching experience. The experience includes serving as coach for several college camps, including at Xavier, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Kenyon College. Through his camp experiences, he designed drills for daily stations based on targeted skill areas, implemented game strategies and provided player evaluations. Other positions were with Hoop Group, Triple Threat Basketball, Drill4Skill Basketball Camp, Keystone State Basketball Camp and Vincentian Academy Basketball Camp.
“Cooper Handelsman is hungry to begin his coaching career after just graduating from college,” said Reed. “His passion for the game and his desire to continue growing will be great attributes as he solidifies a lot of our video responsibilities for our program.”
Photos Courtesy Lehigh Athletics
