The country is going to soon learn about 6-foot-9 Lincoln Cosby, the 14-year old phenom who is set to take grassroots basketball by storm.
Lincoln Cosby has ascended faster than anyone in the national high school class of 2027. Still relatively unknown even 15 months ago, things have come quickly for the tantalizing 6-foot-9 wing. Still just 14 years old at the moment, he was the first freshman and youngest player ever to sign with Overtime Elite. His basketball journey has taken him from Tennessee to Ohio and now to Atlanta. The latest stop in his journey took him to the recent MSHTV Camp in Indianapolis, but he doesn’t appear to be stopping any time soon.
“My basketball journey kind of kicked off in Nashville. It was kind of short lived because we moved a couple of years after that and I couldn’t really find a team. I was bouncing around from team to team in Ohio,” the well spoken Cosby told Ballislife of his journey. “About a year ago, my notoriety started to kick off. My name started to get out there and I started being recognized by a lot of the ranking websites as a top-five guy in the country. I got recognized by OTE due to my consistent performance and upside.”
Considered by many to be the top player in the class fo 2027 nationally, he certainly didn’t disappoint at MSHTV. Lincoln’s combination of inside-out play makes him an extreme mismatch, especially with the 15 pounds he’s gained since attending Overtime Elite. Naturally, the growth that he made allowed him to take over in Indianapolis, telling us, “I have loved every single moment of it. I have been getting way better and I have really been able to see this playing against guys my age this weekend.”
Having participated in the OTE Pro Day that was attended by nearly 100 college coaches and NBA scouts, Cosby showed his ridiculous ceiling. In fact, Ballislife’s Ani Umana deemed him the highest upside player of the event. His showing in front of some of the biggest names in basketball didn’t come without jitters, though.
"At first, before the pro day, I wasn’t really nervous. When I got out there and saw all the college/NBA coaches in the stands, I was definitely nervous,” admitted Lincoln of his experience at the OTE Pro Day. “I wouldn’t say that it affected my performance that much, but I definitely had butterflies in my stomach throughout the workout."
Enjoying his new home in downtown Atlanta, the swingman has fully embraced everything that the city has to offer from the culture to being able to have 24-hour access to the gym. While there were initially some concerns with the Cosby family about sending their son away at such a young age, there is a super support system in place and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he became one of the guys trying to get all of his peers to OTE down the road.
“My family and I had some concerns with me being a freshman and the youngest one there. Ultimately, we looked at things long term and trusted the process,” the well spoken freshman explained. “I’m getting way better there with the resources they have. It’s off the chain. No school in the country can compete with what OTE has to offer me, so I feel like it’s going to maximize the potential staying there for all four years.”
The combination of resources, a new culture, and a new city seem to have made Cosby the perfect fit as the first freshman to ever sign with Overtime Elite. The progress that he has made in such a short time has followed, as he’s happy to elaborate on.
“My shot has really improved because I’m shooting the NBA three every day. Here [at MSHTV Camp] the high school line feels like a mid-range jumper or even a layup,” he added. I’ve gained like 15 pounds since I’ve been in Atlanta. I’ve gotten much, much stronger. I feel like from a physical aspect that my game has gone through the roof.”
