CHICAGO, Ill. -- A former Wayne State College basketball player has come up short in his bid for Congress.

Jahmal Cole, who was vying to replace long-time Congressman Bobby Rush, finished sixth out of 17 candidates in the Democratic primary for Illinois' first congressional district.

Cole was the first candidate to enter the race, out-raising the rest of his early competition. He threw his hat into the ring before fellow Democrat Rush, who served 30 years in Congress, announced that he would not be running.

Several high-profile candidates entered the race late, including Jonathan Jackson, who went on the win the primary. Jackson is the son of Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Cole played basketball at Wayne State under then-head coach Rico Burkett, who is now an assistant women's basketball coach at Colorado State. Burkett serves under former Wayne State women's basketball coach Ryun Williams with the Rams.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him,” Cole said of Burkett in an interview with News Channel Nebraska last August. “He taught me how to stop making excuses. Rico has a family, and he was always just showing me, not telling me, showing me how to be a man.”

Cole graduated from Wayne State in 2005 before moving back to his hometown of Chicago, where he built My Block My Hood My City, a nonprofit that gave teenagers in his neighborhood exposure to other experiences and walks of life. Founded in 2009 and incorporated in 2013, My Block My Hood My City aims to give opportunities to underprivileged youth, focusing on STEM, arts & culture, citizenry & volunteerism, health, community development, culinary arts, and entrepreneurism.