JaKeenan Tyelle Gant (born May 6, 1996) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The c ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

and the

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns are the athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The college has been competing athletically since 1901. The Ragin' Cajuns compete in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams. Nickname The univ ...

Early life and high school career

Gant was born in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

and grew up in the nearby city of

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, where he attended

Effingham County High School Effingham County High School is one of two public high schools located in Effingham County, Georgia, northwest of Savannah. The school was created in 1956 and serves approximately 2000 students in grades 9- 12 in the Effingham County School Distr ...

. Gant averaged 17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game in his junior season and was named the Region 3-5A and Georgia Class 5A Player of the Year as the Rebels reached the GHSA state semifinals. He averaged 21 points, 10.5 rebounds, four blocks, 2.8 assists and one steal per game as a senior and was again named 5A Player of the Year as well as Mr. Georgia Basketball. Rated a consensus four-star recruit, Gant was ranked as one of the top 60 college prospects in his class and in the top ten at his position. He committed to played

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

going into his senior year over offers from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, and

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

College career

Missouri

Gant played in 23 games (six starts) as a freshman, averaging 4.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game and shot 51.6 percent on field goal attempts. He missed nine games due to a suspension after he and fellow freshman Tiger D'Angelo Allen were arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault. As a sophomore Gant averaged 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, again primarily off the bench. Gant was suspended a second time by the team in February after he and teammate Russell Woods were both cited for possession of drug paraphernalia. Following the season, Gant announced that he would be leaving the program in order to move closer to home after his mother was diagnosed with an undisclosed health issue.

Louisiana

Gant ultimately transferred to the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

. After sitting out one year due to NCAA transfer rules, Gant immediately stepped in as a starter for the Ragin' Cajuns the following season and was named the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

Newcomer of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and third team All-Conference after averaging 13.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

senior, Gant garnered first team All-Sun Belt honors and was again named Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 20.5 points per game (third-highest in the conference) and leading the conference with 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots.

Professional career

Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2019–2020)

Gant worked out for several teams leading up to the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

, but ultimately went unselected. Gant signed an

Exhibit 10 The NBA salary cap is the limit to the total amount of money that National Basketball Association teams are allowed to pay their players. Like many professional sports leagues, the NBA has a salary cap to control costs and benefit parity, defined b ...

contract with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

on July 1, 2019. Gant was waived by the Pacers on October 9, 2019. After being waived, Gant joined the Pacers'

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

affiliate, the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The M ...

. In his first professional season, Gant averaged 8.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.

Ulsan Mobis Phoebus (2020)

On June 16, 2020, Gant signed with

Ulsan Mobis Phoebus The Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League. History Foundation and amateur era Before the professional Korean Basketball League was established in 1997, domestic basketball was an amateur s ...

of the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League (KBL; ) is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular season. H ...

. In 25 games, he averaged 9.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 12.9 minutes.

Second stint with Fort Wayne (2021)

On January 11, 2021, Gant returned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In 3 games, he averaged 2.3 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 5.2 minutes.

Saskatchewan Rattlers (2021)

On May 12, 2021, Gant signed with the

Saskatchewan Rattlers The Saskatchewan Rattlers are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, that competes in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). They play their home games at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. History On May ...

of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a men's professional minor league basketball organization. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams competing all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball ...

Chorale Roanne Basket (2021–2023)

On July 9, 2021, Gant signed with

Chorale Roanne Basket Chorale Roanne Basket is a professional basketball club that is based in Roanne, France. The club plays in the first division LNB Pro A. Their home arena is Halle André Vacheresse. The club was founded in 1937 and the team's colors are blue an ...

of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

Ottawa BlackJacks (2023)

Gant joined the Ottawa BlackJacks of the

CEBL The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a men's professional minor league basketball organization. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams competing all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball V ...

as a mid-season addition on June 30, 2023.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva (2023–present)

On July 16, 2023, Gant signed with

of the

References

External links

Louisiana Ragin Cajuns bioMissouri Tigers bio
{{Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. current roster 1996 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American men's basketball players Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Chorale Roanne Basket players Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. players Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball players Missouri Tigers men's basketball players Ottawa Blackjacks players People from Effingham County, Georgia Power forwards Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus players