Ibrahim Jaaber (born February 3, 1984) is an American-born naturalized Bulgarian former professional basketball player. At 1.88 m (6'2") in height, he played at both the point guard and shooting guard positions. He also played for the senior Bulgarian national basketball team, despite being born in the United States.
 Ibrahim Jaaber sits on top of the rim after Penn defeated Yale 86–68 on March 2, 2007, holding the net | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 3, 1984 Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| Nationality | American / Bulgarian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Elizabeth (Elizabeth, New Jersey) |
| College | Penn (2003–2007) |
| NBA draft | 2007: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2007–2013 |
| Position | Point guard / shooting guard |
| Career history | |
| 2007–2008 | Aigaleo |
| 2008–2010 | Lottomatica Roma |
| 2010–2011 | AJ Milano |
| 2012–2013 | Žalgiris Kaunas |
| 2013 | Petrochimi Bandar Imam |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
College career
editAs a former men's college basketball player at the University of Pennsylvania, he won the Ivy League Player of the Year in his junior and senior years, in the process breaking the league's career record for steals (303) and finishing among the top pickpockets in college basketball (2nd nationally in steals his junior year and 3rd nationally in steals his senior year). With Mark Zoller, Ibby also led the Quakers to three straight Ivy League titles between his sophomore and senior years; he also played well in the team's three NCAA Tournament games getting 16 points against Texas A&M and 15 against Texas and he scored 21 points when Penn visited a top North Carolina team. Jaaber will go down as one of the best players ever to play for the Quakers and is the all-time leader in steals at Penn and in the Ivy League.
Career college stats
edit- 2003–2004 (Penn): Pts: 6.5 Rbs: 2.4 Stls: 1.3 Ast: .6
- 2004–2005 (Penn): Pts: 11.5 Rbs: 4.6 Stls: 2.9 Ast: 2.8
- 2005–2006 (Penn): Pts: 18.2 Rbs: 3.4 Stls: 3.3 Ast: 2.2 (Ivy League Player of the Year)
- 2006–2007 (Penn): Pts: 15.9 Rbs: 4.5 Stls: 2.9 Ast: 5.2 (Ivy League Player of the Year, Big 5 Player of the Year, AP All-American Notable)
- Career: Pts: 13.3 Rbs: 3.8 Stls: 2.7 Ast: 2.8
Professional career
editIbrahim Jaaber was not drafted by any NBA teams, but he played for the Detroit Pistons' Summer League squad from July 7–14, 2007 and he subsequently signed a contract to play professionally for a Greek League team called Aigaleo. He then moved to the premiere EuroLeague to play with Lottomatica Roma. In the 2010 NBA Summer League, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers. In August 2010 he signed with AJ Milano.[1]
On January 30, 2013, Jaaber announced that he is leaving his former team Žalgiris Kaunas for personal reasons. He also stated that he will not play for any other European team.[2] Jaaber explained in a letter to the club he left Lithuania because he could not stand to see the dances too suggestive of Zalgiris cheerleaders and he disagreed with advertisements appearing on T-shirts team. "I am well aware that this might prevent me from earning money through basketball for the rest of my life, but I am willing to make this sacrifice because of my beliefs (Islam)," he wrote.[3]
Connections with Muslim Community
editIbrahim Jaaber is now a youth director at IECPA (Jesus Son of Mary Mosque).
National team career
editJaaber played internationally with the senior men's Bulgarian national basketball team.
Career statistics
editThis section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: The table is full of incorrect information (MPG, FG%); It also require "Career row" which currently doesn't exist. (November 2014) |
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
| Bold | Career high |
EuroLeague
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | Lottomatica Roma | 6 | 1 | 22.4 | .405 | .273 | .286 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 2.5 | .3 | 7.5 | 6.5 |
| 2008–09 | Lottomatica Roma | 16 | 15 | 26.3 | .576 | .280 | .594 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 1.9 | .3 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| 2009–10 | Lottomatica Roma | 10 | 10 | 31.0 | .463 | .225 | .625 | 4.4 | 2.5 | 2.2 | .1 | 10.4 | 8.8 |
| 2010–11 | AJ Milano | 10 | 1 | 24.4 | .588 | .353 | .750 | 1.7 | 2.4 | .7 | .3 | 10.8 | 9.6 |
| 2012–13 | Zalgiris | 14 | 10 | 21.1 | .515 | .333 | .619 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.9 | .1 | 5.9 | 7.4 |
References
edit- ^ "Olimpia Milano signs Ibrahim Jaaber". Sportando.com. August 6, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ^ "Su krepšinyje įprastomis reklamomis ant marškinėlių nesutikęs I.Jaaberas paliko "Žalgirį"". krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). January 30, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ^ "Jaaber leaves Zalgiris suddenly". Euroleague.net. January 30, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
External links
edit- Euroleague.net Profile
- Biography @ Pennathletics.net