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Jasmyn Cooper didn’t hear the fire alarms. She was just down the road, shooting hoops at the Salem, Massachusetts YMCA. When her mother, Jaime Emelian, reached her, their family home — which they had owned for decades — was already on fire. By the time Cooper understood what was happening, there was nothing left to save.

“I was just completely dumbfounded,” Emelian said. “My kids didn’t have anything, just the shirts on their backs.”

Emelian, Cooper and her sister, Mackenzie Emelian, lived on the upper floor of a two-story home. The tenants below were normally careful, but this late October day, their Halloween decorations sat too close to an open oven, and everything engulfed in flames within moments.

A fundraiser had to replace the girls’ clothes and essentials. For more than two years, Cooper and her family bounced between a hotel, her grandmother’s home and an apartment. Basketball was Cooper’s one constant.

“Jasmyn just kept going,” Emelian said. “That’s who she is. Basketball is her happy place.”

Nothing about Cooper’s path was stable, but she pushed forward anyway.

Her perseverance drove an illustrious five-year career at Oliver Ames High School and Noble and Greenough School, which culminated in over 1,000 points and a Massachusetts state championship. Cooper became the 24th-best recruit in the class of 2025, per ESPN HoopGurlz, gathering 20-plus Division I offers. Her commitment to Syracuse on July 7, 2024, marked fourth-year head coach Felisha Legette-Jack’s highest-ranked recruit.

In 14 appearances for SU, Cooper has averaged 2.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists across 9.2 minutes. She started three straight games in mid-November against Wagner, Utah and No. 7 Michigan. But in Syracuse’s last three games, she hasn’t appeared.

“Change is hard. I’ve been put in positions where I’m forced to change, which is something I’ve gotten comfortable with and adapted to well,” Cooper said. “You just understand the system, do your part, control the controllables. When your time comes, your time comes.”

That mindset didn’t develop overnight, though. In high school, Cooper wasn’t initially on Legette-Jack’s radar.

That changed at a tournament in Ohio, shortly after COVID-19. Cooper was out of playing shape and wore a mask in front of a restricted crowd, Emelian said. But that’s not what Legette-Jack noticed.

As Cooper, a 6-foot-1 high school sophomore, dribbled up the court, Legette-Jack recognized the little things. She appreciated the hustle plays and the moments where Cooper exhibited her “energy control.” With little hesitation, Legette-Jack made her move.

Jasmyn Cooper dunks on a youth basketball hoop. Years later, Cooper has become Syracuse’s highest-ranked recruit in Felisha Legette-Jack’s tenure. Courtesy of Jaime Emelian

“I’m Coach Jack. I’m the Syracuse coach,” Emelian recalled Legette-Jack telling her. “I want Jasmyn.”

That was all Emelian needed to hear. She instantly pushed for SU, reminding Cooper that — unlike other coaches, who “jumped on the bandwagon” — the Orange’s head coach was Cooper’s “day one.”

Cooper said Legette-Jack viewed college recruiting through a “holistic” lens. She was committed to her development as a player, student and young woman.

“She got on the phone and was like, ‘I wasn’t even coming to recruit you. You stopped me,’” Cooper remembers of her conversation with Legette-Jack. “I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve never heard a coach be so honest with me.’”

Legette-Jack’s transparency made Cooper’s recruitment easy. But the rest of her life hadn’t always been so straightforward.

Before she turned 1, Cooper’s biological father and Emelian split up. Emelian described the 13-year relationship as “abusive.” Once Cooper was born, Emelian realized she couldn’t put her daughter through the pain she’d endured. Emelian hit a low point after kicking out Cooper’s father, yet Cooper “saved” her.

Although Cooper lacked a present father, Emelian “dedicated her life” to her girls. Emelian, who grew up without a mother, promised herself she’d be the mother she never had.

Emelian spent years chauffeuring Cooper to basketball practices and games on Massachusetts’ South Shore. She took Cooper and Mackenzie on annual trips to Disney World, which they recognized as an “escape from home.”

Everything was going swimmingly. Then their home was set ablaze. The fire jeopardized the family’s 2014 trip to Florida, which was scheduled for a week later. But most importantly, it derailed their entire life.

“That was a very, very difficult time,” Emelian said. “It’s something I don’t wish on anyone.”

Cooper reacted to the fire the same way she approached basketball. No emotion. No expression. She didn’t let things get to her head — or at least show they were. She viewed it as a plus in her game, but some of her coaches couldn’t stand it.

They’d often approach Emelian and insist Cooper wasn’t having a good time. She’d reassure them that Cooper loved what she was doing. Her “old soul” and reserved demeanor were just who she was.

“My strengths will show, my weaknesses will be seen,” Cooper said. “But being able to not get distracted and not listen to the outside noise really helped me stay solid as a player and teammate over the years.”

As Cooper grew up, she still longed for a father figure. When Keith Derba, Cooper’s coach at MCW Starz, helped the family find a new place in Easton after the fire, he effectively filled that gap.

The Derbas were also grappling with devastating news. Keith and his wife Megan’s nephew had been diagnosed with cancer. As he fought through treatment and Cooper’s family adjusted to their new reality, the two families relied on each other for support.

Megan said spending time with Cooper and her family was a distraction from visiting the hospital. Cooper formed a “sisterhood” with Keith and Megan’s daughter Kaydance, who was Cooper’s age. The two families spent hours together at Keith’s parents’ house.

The top floor of the home was empty, allowing Cooper’s family, the Derbas and their MCW Starz teammates to take it over. There were three twin beds, and Megan would set up air mattresses. She said it felt like “a slumber party every weekend.” After exhausting their energy upstairs, everyone would move outside to the swimming pool.

“The memories we created really stand out the most,” Megan said. “Bonding with (Cooper and her family) was a lifesaver for us. They stole our hearts.”

The feeling was mutual. Cooper said Kaydance was “the person for her.” Keith embraced his new role as her father figure, setting Cooper up with “a fabulous trainer.” Soon enough, Cooper considered Keith her dad, Megan her second mom and their daughters her sisters.

“(I just gave) her positive attention that any young girl deserves. Making her feel loved,” Keith said. “I wouldn’t say going above and beyond, I’d just say treating her like she was any other one of my daughters.”

After winning a state championship as a sophomore at Oliver Ames, legendary head coach Laney Clement-Holbrook retired. It seemed like the right time for Cooper to start anew. With Easton’s relative racial homogeneity and Cooper growing up alongside Emelian and Mackenzie — both white — she wanted to explore a school with more diversity.

Schools had already reached out to Cooper before her freshman year. She’d even applied to Noble and Greenough — a five-day boarding academy located about 30 minutes from her Easton home — but was waitlisted, which Emelian called a “kick in the gut.” She wanted it so bad. Now, she was ready to try again.

This time, Emelian told Cooper to “not put all her eggs in one basket.” So, she applied to three schools, yet Nobles remained her top choice. She got accepted into all three.

After lengthy conversations with Emelian, Megan and Keith, Cooper dissected the pros and cons. The pros included Nobles’ historic basketball program, its demanding academics and its close location. The cons were she’d be away from her friends, home-cooked meals and her own bed. It would be a fresh start, the most exciting part for Cooper. The pros won out.

“Selfishly, I wanted Jasmyn to stay,” Megan said. “But I said, ‘I really do think you would benefit and be more fulfilled going to (Nobles).’ Without a doubt, she chose the right one.’”

Cooper spent her final summers before college putting up shots in Nobles’ gym. She formed a close relationship with her coach and felt comfortable on the campus, since she’d played there for years for MCW Starz.

Cooper racked up many accomplishments across her three seasons at Nobles. But the one she values most came on graduation day.

For six months, Cooper carried the secret. She talked it through with Emelian, went through the court process and made it official, “a tribute, a thanks, a seal-the-deal” to the second family that stepped in when nothing was guaranteed.

By graduation day, “Derba” sat beside Cooper’s name on her high school diploma. Cooper didn’t need to search the crowd to see Keith and Megan’s reactions.

After years of adversity, this was one moment she controlled. The choice was finally hers, and knowing they heard it was enough.

Published on January 22, 2026 at 12:17 am
Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_