Jai Lamar Lewis (born February 13, 1983) is an American former basketball player. He now works as a behavioral specialist in

Parkville, Maryland Parkville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 30,734. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total are ...

College career

He grew up in Germany to US Army serving parents and began to play basketball while there at the age of 6. When he turned 8 his family moved to

Aberdeen, Maryland Aberdeen is a city located in Harford County, Maryland, United States, northeast of Baltimore. The population was 16,254 at the 2020 United States census. Aberdeen is the largest municipality in Harford County. Aberdeen is part of the Baltimo ...

, where he played for the local Aberdeen High School. He is best known for his career in

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

. A

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

, Lewis was the primary inside force for the

Patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

during their "

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

" run to the 2006 Final Four. Lewis was selected as the 47th pick overall in the 2006 CBA Draft by the

Pittsburgh Xplosion The Pittsburgh Xplosion was a professional basketball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 2006 to 2008. Founded in 2004 as the Pittsburgh Hard Hats as a member of th ...

NFL attempt

Lewis was signed as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

following the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

wanting to pursue a career similar to

Antonio Gates Antonio Ethan Gates Jr. (born June 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 16-year career as a tight end for the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) from 2003 to 2018. ...

and Marcus Pollard. He ended his pursuit of an NFL career as an offensive tackle to pursue his basketball options. Although he was listed at Mason as 6'7", 275 lb (2.01 m, 125 kg), the Giants listed him at 6'5", 292 lb (1.96 m, 133 kg).

Professional career

Weeks after leaving the Giants, Lewis signed with

KK Bosna Košarkaški klub Bosna Royal (), commonly referred to as KK Bosna, currently named Bosna Visit Sarajevo for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the most successful Bosnian cl ...

for $8,000 a month. Lewis was expected to play a significant role for the defending champions. However, Lewis was released from his contract in just six weeks. The team felt he was too small to play power forward in the Adriatic League. Shortly after leaving Bosna, Lewis signed to play in Israel for

Ironi Ramat Gan Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan (, formerly Ironi Ramat Gan) is a professional basketball club based in Ramat Gan in the Tel Aviv District. The team currently plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. It plays ...

. The contract was for "more than $5,000 a month". In twenty-seven games, he averaged 15.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals. Following his rookie season in Israel, Jai Lewis signed with

Strasbourg IG Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League. The ...

, a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

team. Just four games into the season, with Lewis averaging only 3 points on 27% shooting, Strasbourg released Lewis. After playing for Strasbourg, Jai Lewis signed with

Hapoel Galil Elyon Hapoel Galil Elyon (), also known as Hapoel Nofar Energy Galil Elion for sponsorship reasons, is an Israeli basketball club. The team competes in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top tier of Israeli basketball, and internationally in t ...

, another Israeli team who took part in the

ULEB Cup EuroCup Basketball, commonly known as the EuroCup and currently called BKT EuroCup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual professional basketball club competition organized by Euroleague Basketball. The league is regarded as Euroleague Basketbal ...

, to finish the 2008 season. He finished the season averaging 12.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in league play. Next, Lewis played for the

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association owned by Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc. It debuted in the league in the 2006–07 PBA season after acquiring the franchise righ ...

in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

along with former George Mason University teammate Fil-Am guard

Gabe Norwood Gabriel Daniel Viloria Norwood (born February 9, 1985) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player and assistant coach for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played college basketball ...

. Prior to the 2010-11 season, he returned to

from Israel, and played in

Liga Leumit The Israeli Liga Leumit (, HaLiga HaLeumit, ) is the second division of the professional Israeli association football (soccer) league system. This second-tier league is placed directly below the Israeli Premier League. Structure There are 16 ...

for 4 games in 2010. He then moved to Japan to play top basketball. In 2013, after playing in Colombia he retired from professional basketball.

External links

George Mason Patriots bio

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Jai 1983 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Bosnia and Herzegovina American expatriate basketball people in Colombia American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American men's basketball players Basketball players from Maryland Changwon LG Sakers players George Mason Patriots men's basketball players Hapoel Galil Elyon players Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan players Israeli Basketball Premier League players KK Bosna Royal players Levanga Hokkaido players Sportspeople from Aberdeen, Maryland Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards Rain or Shine Elasto Painters players SIG Strasbourg players Sportspeople from the Baltimore metropolitan area Sun Rockers Shibuya players

College career

NFL attempt

Professional career

See also

External links

References