Jaime Peterson (born September 29, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional basketball player. A

forward-center Forward–center or bigman is a basketball position for players who play or have played both forward and center on a consistent basis. Typically, this means power forward and center, since these are usually the two biggest player positions on an ...

, he was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to Dominican parents. After playing for three different high schools, including a

postgraduate year A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitted ...

Maine Central Institute Maine Central Institute (MCI) is an independent high school in Pittsfield, Maine, United States that was established in 1866. The school enrolls approximately 430 students and is a nonsectarian institution. The school has both boarding and da ...

, Peterson played two seasons in the

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

circuit with

Champlain College Champlain College is a private college in Burlington, Vermont. Founded in 1878, Champlain offers on-campus undergraduate and online undergraduate courses through Champlain College Online, along with online certificate and degree programs and ma ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

before playing in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

with the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

. He went undrafted in the

1995 NBA draft The 1995 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1995, at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft to be held outside the United States and was the first draft for the two Canadian expansion teams, Toronto Raptors and Vancouve ...

, and he started his professional career in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In 2003 he was named the Most Valuable Player of the

Liga Española de Baloncesto The Liga Española de Baloncesto, also known as LEB Oro, is the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. It is run by the FEB. The Liga Española de Baloncesto is divided into two categories (the oth ...

, the second tier of Spanish basketball. He played for the Dominican Republic national team from 1995 to 2005, and he won the silver medal at the 1995 and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

editions of

Centrobasket The Centrobasket is a FIBA-sponsored international basketball tournament where national teams from Central America and the Caribbean participate. These countries make up the Central American and Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CONCENCABA). Th ...

High school career

Peterson was born in New York City to Luz and Jaime Sr., who had immigrated from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. Peterson has five siblings, one brother and four sisters. At the age of 14, Peterson moved out of the family home and went to live with a friend, José Marte. He initially played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, but due to his height he turned to basketball at the age of 15. He played basketball at Louis D. Brandeis High School in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and later moved to

Glen Mills Schools The Glen Mills Schools is a youth detention center for juvenile delinquents located near Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, Glen Mills in Thornbury Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, for boys between 12 and 21 years of age. The sch ...

Glen Mills, Pennsylvania Glen Mills is an unincorporated community in Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States about 27 miles west of Philadelphia. The ZIP code for Glen Mills is 19342. History The area around Glen Mills was part of the original ...

. He then enrolled at

Pittsfield, Maine Pittsfield is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,908 at the 2020 census. Pittsfield is home to the Maine Central Institute, a semi-private boarding school, and the annual Central Maine Egg Festival. History ...

where he was part of a team with several other

prospects playing for coach

Max Good Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

. He played two seasons at Maine Central Institute, including a

, with the team posting a 52–11 overall record over Peterson's stint there.

College career

Peterson played his first two seasons of college eligibility at

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

. In his freshman year he was a second-team All-State selection by the Vermont College Men's Basketball Coaches Association after averaging 16.3 points per game. In November 1992, Peterson signed a

National Letter of Intent National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

to play for

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

from the 1993–94 season. He spent the 1992–93 season at Champlain, averaging 16.2 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. Peterson arrived at Pittsburgh in late 1993. He played his first season as a reserve, starting 1 game out of 26, playing 332 total minutes (12.8 per game) under coach Paul Evans. He averaged 4.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game, ranking second on the team in blocks behind

Eric Mobley Eric Mobley (February 1, 1970 – June 2, 2021) was an American professional basketball player who played three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round (18th pick overall) o ...

. Peterson showed significant improvement in his senior season. He was promoted in the starting lineup by newly appointed head coach

Ralph Willard Ralph Daniel Willard (born March 28, 1946) is an American former basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Western Kentucky University from 1990 to 1994, the University of Pittsburgh from 1994 to 1999, and the College of ...

, and he started all 28 games of the season, playing 36.4 minutes per game (1,020 total). On December 19, 1994, he recorded a career-high 6 blocks against Duquesne; on January 11, 1995, he tied the mark with 6 blocks against

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Ha ...

.''Pitt Basketball 19–20 Media Guide''. University of Pittsburgh. 2019. p. 153. On January 23, 1995, he was named

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

Player of the Week. On January 28, 1995, he had 21 points, 16 rebounds and 5 steals against Georgetown. At the end of the season, Peterson was the team leader in points (13.9), rebounds (9.4), steals (1.8) and blocks (2.5). His 70 blocks for the season were the 6th best single-season mark in Pittsburgh history, and still stand as such as of 2019. He also ranked second in the Big East in rebounding, after having led the conference for a part of the season. He was named in the NABC All-Region First Team, and in the All-Big East Second Team. He also took part in the NABC All-Star Game at the end of the season.

Professional career

After the end of his senior season, Peterson was automatically eligible for the

. He participated in the 1995

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, (PIT), is the oldest amateur basketball tournament in the United States and the only postseason camp restricted to college basketball seniors. The Portsmouth Invitational is the first of two NBA pre-draft ...

with the Portsmouth Sports Club team. He went undrafted in the NBA draft and started his professional career with

BCM Gravelines Basket Club Maritime Gravelines-Dunkerque, commonly referred to as BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, is a French professional basketball club based in Gravelines. They currently play in the Pro A, the highest professional league in France. The team plays ...

. He played 30 games in 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. ...

, the first level of French basketball, and averaged 13.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 32 minutes of playing time. In the 1996–97 preseason, Peterson was signed by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, but was released on October 22, 1996, before the start of the NBA season. Peterson then joined

Panteras de Miranda Panteras de Miranda is a Venezuelan professional basketball club based in Miranda. The club competes in the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto The Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto, commonly known as the SPB, is the Venezuelan first division natio ...

of the

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Liga Profesional de Baloncesto The Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto, commonly known as the SPB, is the Venezuelan first division national professional basketball league. Founded in 1974 as the Liga Especial de Baloncesto, it adopted the name Liga Profesional de Baloncesto i ...

in 1997. He spent the 1997–98 season with

JL Bourg-en-Bresse Jeunesse Laïque de Bourg-en-Bresse, commonly known as JL Bourg or simply Bourg, is a basketball club based in Bourg-en-Bresse, France that plays in the Pro A. Their home arena is Ekinox, which has a capacity of 3,548 people. History In 2014, J ...

in the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the French basketball league system, 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since t ...

, the second tier of French basketball. In 1998 he briefly played for

Obras Sanitarias Club Atlético Obras Sanitarias de la Nación (mostly known simply as Obras Sanitarias or Obras) is an Argentina, Argentine professional sports club that is located in the district of Núñez, Buenos Aires. Although originally conceived as a rugb ...

in the

Liga Nacional de Básquet The Liga Nacional de Básquet (abbreviated LNB, and literally in English, "National Basketball League"), also commonly referred to as "La Liga de Básquet" ("The Basketball League"), is the top-tier level of the Argentine basketball league system ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. In 1999 he played for San Carlos,

Atléticos de San Germán Atléticos de San Germán is a basketball club of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) based in San Germán, Puerto Rico. Founded in the 1930s after the amalgamation of the old San Germán team and the Farmacia Martín team, the team is one of ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

(1 game in the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

where he scored 9 points) and Mauricio Báez, a club that participated in the Baloncesto Superior del Distrito Nacional, the basketball league for clubs of the

Distrito Nacional The Distrito Nacional (; D.N.) is a subdivision of the Dominican Republic enclosing the capital Santo Domingo. It is not in any of the Provinces of the Dominican Republic, provinces, but in practice, it acts as a province on its own. Before Octobe ...

in the Dominican Republic. In 2000 he played for the

Connecticut Pride The Connecticut Pride (From 1993-94 the Hartford Hellcats) were an American professional basketball team based in Hartford, Connecticut that was a member of the Continental Basketball Association. They played in Hartford from 1993 to 2000, primar ...

in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA), averaging 3 points, 4 rebounds and 0.6 blocks over 15 regular season games; he also played 1 playoff game, scoring 4 points and adding 4 rebounds and 4 blocks in 23 minutes. He then played for Mauricio Báez and San Carlos before signing for

Étendard de Brest Étendard de Brest was a basketball club based in Brest, France, Brest, France. Their home arena was Salle Marcel Cerdan. Established in 1952, Brest played one season in the LNB Pro A, in 2005–06. After being relegated to the Nationale Masculine ...

, another French club that participated in the Pro B. In 2001 he played his first stint in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and played for

CB Plasencia Club Baloncesto Ambroz Plasencia, more commonly referred to today by its sponsorship name of Plasencia Extremadura, is a Basketball team based in Plasencia, Extremadura. History Plasencia Ambroz was founded in 1978 as a merge of the clubs Centro ...

in the 2000–01 LEB 2 season, the third level of Spanish basketball: he played 26 games, averaging 14.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He then played for Mauricio Báez in the Dominican Republic, Regatas San Nicolás in

, and

Club Atlético Goes Club Atlético Goes is a Uruguayan professional basketball team located in Montevideo, Uruguay. The team competes in the Liga Uruguaya de Basketball.

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

before signing with

CB Guadalajara Club Baloncesto Guadalajara was a professional Basketball team based in Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

in Spain. In his second season in Spain he averaged 16.2 points and 9.2 rebounds in 29 LEB 2 regular season games, and 17.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in 3 postseason games. He played the 2002–03 season with CD Universidad Complutense of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, and at the end of the season he was named regular season MVP of the Liga Española de Baloncesto after averaging 15.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 30 games with a PIR of 22.5. He also appeared in 5 playoff games with averages of 10.6 points and 9.2 rebounds. In July 2003 he moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and signed for Virtus Ragusa (at the time known as Banca Popolare Ragusa for sponsorships reasons), a Sicilian team in the LegaDue, the second tier of Italian basketball. He played 24 games (all starts) and averaged 11.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in 30.1 minutes of averaging playing time. He then spent the 2004–05 season with

STB Le Havre Saint Thomas Basket Le Havre or simply STB Le Havre is a basketball club based in city of Le Havre, France that plays in the Pro B division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB). Their home arena is Dock Océane.Allen Mack Jr. JPMorgan * Ref ...

in the French Pro A, and averaged 10 points an 5.9 rebounds in 31 appearances; the then transferred to

Rouen Métropole Basket Rouen Métropole Basket, shortly named RMB, is a professional basketball club founded in 2011, based in Rouen, France. The team currently plays in the LNB Pro B, the French second division. History After playing in the Pro B for one year, the cl ...

, another Pro A team, where he played 20 games of the 2005–06 season, averaging 10.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 25.3 minutes. In 2006 he played in the LIDOBA in the Dominican Republic with Marineros de Puerto Plata. He then went back to Spain and signed for

Baloncesto León Club Baloncesto León was a basketball team, based in León, Spain. History Early years (1981-1988) Baloncesto León was founded by José Antonio Moirón García, Enrique Emperador Marcos, Juan Carlos Rodríguez Villanueva, Lisardo Mourelo Gonz� ...

, playing 34 regular season games with averages of 7.4 points and 5.5 rebounds; he also played 11 playoff games, averaging 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds. In the following season, Peterson signed for

Gandía BA Gandia Bàsquet Athletic is a professional basketball team based in Gandia, Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, and played 30 games (9.3 points, 4.7 rebounds); he retired after playing the 2008–09 season with León.

National team career

Peterson debuted with the

Dominican Republic men's national basketball team The Dominican Republic national basketball team ( es, Selección de Baloncesto de República Dominicana) represents the Dominican Republic in men's international basketball competitions. In 2011 and 2012, John Calipari, the head coach of the U ...

in 1995, participating in the 1995 Centrobasket in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

, where the Dominican Republic placed 2nd. He was then called up again in 1999: in May he participated in the 1999 Centrobasket, where he scored 11 points in the 3rd place game against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

that earned him and his team the bronze medal. Later that year he took part in the

1999 Tournament of the Americas The 1999 Tournament of the Americas, later known as the FIBA Americas Championship and the FIBA AmeriCup (also known as Las Americas Tournament for Men, the FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament, or Panamerican Olympic Qualifying Tournament ...

in July, and in the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns and ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the month of August. In 2001 he took part in the

2001 Centrobasket This page shows the results of the 2001 Men's Central American and Caribbean Basketball Championship, also known as the 2001 Centrobasket, which was held in the city of Toluca, Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican ...

played in

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In 2003 he was part of the team that won the silver medal at the

2003 Centrobasket This page shows the results of the Men's Central American and Caribbean Basketball Championship, also known as the 2003 Centrobasket, which was held in the city of Culiacán, Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican Sta ...

played in

Culiacán Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital and largest city of both the Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531, by the Spanish Conquistadores, con ...

, Mexico, during which he averaged 2.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He was later included in the Dominican team that took part in the

2003 Tournament of the Americas The 2003 Tournament of the Americas in basketball, later known as the FIBA Americas Championship and the FIBA AmeriCup (also known as Las Americas Tournament for Men, FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament, or Panamerican Olympic Qualifying T ...

, an event where Peterson posted averages of 5.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. In 2005 he participated in the

2005 FIBA Americas Championship The 2005 FIBA Americas Championship, later known as the FIBA AmeriCup (also known as The Tournament of the Americas), was hosted by the Dominican Republic, from August 24, to September 4, 2005. The games were played in Santo Domingo. This FIBA Amer ...

, receiving limited playing time and averaging 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.

Career statistics

College

, - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 26 , , 1 , , 12.8 , , .535 , , — , , .586 , , 3.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 4.9 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , 28 , , 36.4 , , .513 , , — , , .755 , , 9.4 , , 0.8 , , 1.8 , , 2.5 , , 13.9 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 54 , , 29 , , 24.6 , , .518 , , — , , .680 , , 6.6 , , 0.7 , , 1.1 , , 1.6 , , 9.6 , -

References

External links