Catching up with the Jewish Jordan

Photo: AP

Still doing interviews for my coming article about Jew ball and Lakers back-up point guard Jordan Farmar, I just got off the phone with the original “Jewish Jordan.”

Don’t recognize the reference? Don’t worry. I’ve resurrected this blog post from last June for that:

That was once a name claimed by Tamir Goodman, a red-headed Orthodox kid from Baltimore who could seriously play back in the day. (Goodman is my age.) He had a scholarship at the University of Maryland, but that fell through when he refused to play on the Sabbath, and two years later he signed a contract with Israel’s top team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and, surprisingly became the league’s first observant Jew. Here he is talking with Gelf:

Anything I’ve ever done, I only did for Judaism. All along, all I’ve ever said is, “I’m just trying to use my God-given talent.“ I’m no different than anyone else—you’re a reporter, a lawyer is a lawyer; for me, my talent is basketball. I don’t know; it’s not like I wanted it, or asked for it. I try to be as simple and as humble as possible all the time.

Goodman is still playing, but he’s proven to be no Jordan. He was a standout high school player, and for the Tribe that was enough.

You can ead the rest of that blog post, which actually focused on Jordan Farmar, here. As for Goodman, his days in the limelight have passed, but he’s made a comeback and is playing for Maccabi Haifa.

On a related note, I will, in the Shaqtastic tradition of self-styled nicknames, heretofore be known as the Jewish J.J. Redick. That’s about all the hyperbole I could afford.