There’s been a ton of crazy stuff going on lately with basketball players going European. We had Brandon Jennings spurn Arizona for Europe, Josh Childress go Greek, LeBron say he’d consider Europe, and Kobe say the same thing. We also have seen several foreign NBA players return to Europe this off-season where they’re making greater annual salaries. Jordan Farmar went to Israel to teach his fellow Jews how to ball in a workshop. Even Carlos Arroyo just signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv. And if that weren’t enough, all 5’5″ of Earl Boykins went to an Italian team. But the real big news is that the Jewish Jordan, Tamir Goodman, has signed with the Maccabi Haifa Heat.
Goodman was profiled in Sports Illustrated a while back, and much like any Jew in sports, he received plenty of notice and promotion from the community. He was billed “The Jewish Jordan” and was even offered a scholarship to play at Maryland, which he turned down because he did not want to play on the Sabbath (he don’t dunk on Shomer Shabbas). As for his thoughts on the nickname, “I loved Michael Jordan, but I never really liked the nickname … It doesn’t match me really well, both on and off the court.” Anyway, you should be pleased to know that Goodman went from being a highly touted recruit in the U.S. to playing professionally in Israel. Too bad he didn’t sign with my personal favorite team — the West Bank Shots — but his game will be on display with the Israeli Heat. Niiiice.
