Ibrahim Jaaber

Ibrahim Jaaber
	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 (age 40); 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
	2× Ivy League Player of the Year (2006, 2007);

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.

College career

As 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

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

Ibrahim 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

Ibrahim Jaaber is now a youth director at IECPA (Jesus Son of Mary Mosque).

National team career

Jaaber played internationally with the senior men's Bulgarian national basketball team.

Career statistics

Legend
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


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	.863	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

^ "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

Euroleague.net Profile
Biography @ Pennathletics.net

[1] "Olimpia Milano signs Ibrahim Jaaber". Sportando.com. August 6, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2018.

[2] "Su krepšinyje įprastomis reklamomis ant marškinėlių nesutikęs I.Jaaberas paliko "Žalgirį"". krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). January 30, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2018.

[3] "Jaaber leaves Zalgiris suddenly". Euroleague.net. January 30, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]