Jamaal Tatum aka Jamaal Tatoum (born September 13, 1984) 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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. He is 6'2" and 175 pounds (1.88 m, 80 kg).

High school career

As a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

er, Tatum was a

finalist The final of a competition is the match or round in which the winner of the entire event is decided. In sports competitions following a knockout system, where only two individuals or teams compete in each match, the final is usually played between ...

as the Missouri Mr. Basketball. He was the leading scorer at

Helias High School Helias Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Jefferson City, Missouri, United States. History Helias High School opened for the 1956-57 school year. This interparish Catholic school became necessary when St. Peter High ...

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...

, where he set the school record for points in a game (46). Tatum ialso lettered in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

as a sophomore and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

as a freshman. He consistently posted an excellent

GPA Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

. Tatum's father is a professor of art at Lincoln University and his mother is the supervisor of Jefferson City Public Schools. In his first semester at SIU, Tatum posted a 4.0 GPA.

College career

A star basketball player at Southern Illinois, Tatum was known for his quickness and long-range shooting. In his freshman season, he was second in the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

in three-point shooting (45.6%). As a junior, he led the team in scoring (15 ppg) and received various Missouri Valley Conference awards. He led the Salukis back to prominence and took them to the 2006 NCAA Tournament. An #11 seed, they lost to

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

in the first round. Tatum was named his team's CBS Player of the Game. In his final season as a Saluki, Tatum was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. Along with fellow senior Tony Young and star junior Randal Falker, Tatum brought the team high into the AP and coaches' poll, with a 27-6 record (including the MVC Tournament) and an RPI of #7 in the country, ahead of such powerhouses as

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

(#8) and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

(#11). The Salukis received a #4 seed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament and easily beat Holy Cross in the first round. In the second round, they beat #5 seed

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, 63-48, reaching 29 wins on the season. Tatum had 21 points and was 7-for-15 from field-goal range. In the third round, they lost to top-seeded Kansas, 61-58. Tatum shot well late and finished with 19 points.

Professional career

In 2007, Tatum signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Atlanta Hawks. he played with them during training camp, but did not earn a spot on the final roster. He was drafted 4th overall in the

D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

draft by the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

but was waived before he played in a game due to injury. On August 27, 2008, he signed a non-guaranteed contract with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

, who waived him on October 17. Tatum rejoined the Idaho Stampede for the 2008-2009 season, playing 49 games and starting 5. He finished the season third on the team in total points and seventh in scoring average, posting 11.8 points and 4.0 assists per game in 26.5 minutes. Tatum led the team with 8 assists in their first-round playoff loss to the Austin Toros.

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) (2017–present)

In the summer of 2017, Tatum played in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The 2022 edition features 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize, broadcast by ESPN. TBT was founded in 201 ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

for Team Fredette. He competed for the $2 million prize, and for Team Fredette, he scored five points in their first-round game, which they lost to Team Utah (Utah Alumni) 100-97.

Coaching career

Tatum continues to coach in the greater Tucson area with the private coaching service,

CoachUp CoachUp is a venture-funded startup company that connects athletes with private coaches. History CoachUp was founded in 2011 by former professional basketball player Jordan Fliegel with engineers Arian Radmand and Gabe Durazo. Its site, Coach ...

.www.coachup.com/coaches/jamaalt
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Sources

Jamaal Tatum Interview: Pursuit of the NBA

Notes and references

External links

French League profileGerman League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tatum, Jamaal 1984 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Latvia Basketball players from Missouri BK Ventspils players Cholet Basket players Guards (basketball) Idaho Stampede players Sportspeople from Jefferson City, Missouri Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball players American men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people