Ibrahim Jaaber (born February 3, 1984 in Elizabeth, New Jersey

Elizabeth, New Jersey

Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...

), is a naturalized Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

n professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player originally from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He plays both the point guard

Point guard

Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...

 and shooting guard

Shooting guard

The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...

 positions and is 1.88 m (6'2") in height. He plays in the Euroleague

Euroleague

Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

 and he was picked to play for the Bulgarian national basketball team even though he is American.

College career

As a former men's basketball player at the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

, 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

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 getting 16 points against Texas A&M and 15 against Texas and he scored 21 points when Penn visited a top North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 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

Pro career

Ibrahim Jaaber was not drafted by any NBA teams, but he played for the Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...

' Summer League

NBA Summer League

The NBA Summer League is a period during which NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups. Typically, there is a mix of rookies and some of the younger bench players to see how well some players work with others...

 squad from July 7–14, 2007 and he subsequently signed a contract to play professionally for a Greek League

A1 Ethniki

The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...

 team called Egaleo ΒC. He then moved to the premiere Euroleague

Euroleague

Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

 to play with Lottomatica Roma

Pallacanestro Virtus Roma

Pallacanestro Virtus Roma, also known for sponsorship reasons as Acea Virtus Roma, is a prominent Italian League professional basketball club, and is also currently one of 13 European clubs that hold ULEB A Licenses, which provide their holders with a guaranteed place in the Euroleague. The club...

. In the 2010 NBA Summer League, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

. In August 2010 he signed with AJ Milano

Olimpia Milano

Olimpia Milano is a Lega Basket Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy, founded in 1936 by Milan businessman Adolfo Bogoncelli. Its colors are red and white, and the team is sometimes referred as "Scarpette Rosse" because team officials imported from the United States red...

.

Bulgarian national team

Jaaber plays internationally for the Bulgarian national basketball team.

External links

• Euroleague.net Profile
• Biography @ Pennathletics.net