HARTFORD, Conn. — Phil Cofer’s phone buzzed, interrupting the upbeat scene that is a locker room after an NCAA Tournament victory. No. 4 Florida State had just beaten No. 13 Vermont on Thursday afternoon when Cofer got a call from his mother, Reba.
She relayed the news the family had long expected but absolutely dreaded: Cofer’s father, Mike, had died. He’d been battling an undisclosed illness for years.
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Phil Cofer began to sob, devastated, his body heaving as it was consumed by grief. His teammates approached him, trying to do anything and everything they could do to absorb whatever bit of his pain they could. A couple of players helped lead him toward the back of the locker room, to a more private area.
“Just to hear him cry like that — I’ve never even heard Phil cry before,” said senior guard P.J. Savoy, whose locker was near Cofer’s. “I think he knew it was coming but didn’t think it would be this fast. It just sucks that he had to be here when it happened.”
Said senior guard Terance Mann: “We kind of all just got together, cried with him and just regrouped.”
Florida State returned to its team hotel and spent the night trying to console Cofer. Teammates brought him food. They put basketball games on TV. But they mostly sat in silence.
“We let him know that we’re here for him, hung around him to make sure he was OK, try to get his spirits in better shape,” Savoy said.
Cofer, a senior forward, wasn’t at the XL Center on Friday for Florida State’s practice, but it felt as if he was everywhere. In a way, he was. His teammates spoke of him in hushed tones, trying to convey the unfathomable tragedy he’s enduring right now in a most respectful way. His closest friends on the team said they’ve already dedicated Saturday’s second-round game against No. 12 Murray State to him.
Coach Leonard Hamilton said on Friday he has had conversations with the Cofer family, and they and Phil decided he will remain with the team through Saturday’s game.
“We’ll be there for Phil in every way possible,” Hamilton said. “We’re going to do everything we can to minimize the effect. But you don’t ever really know how challenging going through that experience would be on the individual.
“Because of our culture and the love that these guys have for each other, they feel the same level of pain. But they also have the same love and compassion and care for him, so they are going to do everything they can. He’s going to know that his brothers are there with him. Prior to the news that he got yesterday, we had already dedicated the season and our play to his father. That meant a lot to Phil.”
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Mike Cofer played football at Tennessee and then for the Detroit Lions for 10 years. Hamilton described Mike as “one of the most competitive human beings that has ever played in the NFL,” an athlete beloved and respected by those he played with and against him.
“(Mike) is a guy who had to endure an unbelievably challenging, debilitating disease that mentally and emotionally was draining in itself, but the physical toll it took on his body is beyond anything that you possibly could explain,” Hamilton said. “He never complained. He always faced it every day with the heart of a lion, with a tremendous amount of courage, and he passed that same mental and emotional aspect over to his son, Phil.
“He always challenged Phil, and he always encouraged him to play with the heart of a lion, and without making any excuses for anything at all. Phil’s attitude has been as good as anyone that I’ve ever coached. He’s always positive. He’s always energetic. He’s a fun guy to be around, a great teammate. He’s a guy that uplifted other guys on the team when they were down.”
And now it’s time for those teammates to lift him up. They’ve been there for Phil Cofer as he’s dealt with various injuries over the years — including a nagging foot injury that sidelined him for the game against Vermont — but all of that pales in comparison to what Cofer is experiencing now.
On Friday, as his teammates practiced, he stayed back at the team hotel with a few team staffers and managers. Theoretically, there’s a question about whether he’d want to play on Saturday, but it wasn’t asked on Friday and truly isn’t important. Right now, he’s surrounded by his basketball family, which is praying for him and his loved ones as they all grieve together.
“Talking to Phil, he still wants us to play,” Savoy said. “He’s hurting. But we’re here for a reason and he wants this season still to be special. We’re rallying for him, here for him, and we’re going to give it all we have.”
(Photo: Robert Deutsch/USA Today Sports)
