Jamal Edward Branch (born September 30, 1992) 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 who last played for the Cape Breton Highlanders of the National Basketball League of Canada. He played college basketball for Texas A&M and St. John's.

High school career

Branch attended

Atascocita High School Atascocita High School is a secondary school located in Atascocita CDP, a community housed in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. AHS is a part of Humble Independent School District and serves the eastern part of the district an ...

before transferring to

Grace Preparatory Academy Grace Preparatory Academy (GPA) is a private, college-preparatory Christian school located in Arlington, Texas, United States. Founded in 1992, it offers programs for Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade students drawn from the Dallas/Fort Worth ...

. As a senior, he averaged 16.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists, leading Grace Prep to the state championship. For his efforts, he was selected as the district's most valuable player, he was an all-state selection and was a finalist for Mr. Basketball in the state of Texas.

College career

Branch began his college career at Texas A&M where he played in 11 games and averaged 4.2 points, 2.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 18.6 minutes. Before his sophomore season, he transferred to St. John's where he averaged 4.8 points 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 22 minutes per game as a senior.

Professional career

Los Angeles D-Fenders (2015–2016)

After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, Branch signed with Iskra Svit of the Slovak Extraliga on August 29, 2015, but left before playing for them. On October 31, Branch was selected by the

Los Angeles D-Fenders LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

with the 41st overall pick in the 2015 NBA Development League Draft. However, he was waived by the D-Fenders on January 6, 2016. In 10 games with the D-Fenders, he averaged 1.1 points in 6.4 minutes per game. On April 7, 2016, Branch was re-signed by the D-Fenders for the D-League playoffs.

Reno Bighorns (2016–2017)

On October 30, 2016, Branch was acquired by the

Reno Bighorns Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

in a draft-day trade with the D-Fenders. On February 28, 2017, Branch was waived by the Bighorns.

The Basketball Tournament

Jamal Branch played for Team Johnnies in the 2018 edition of

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 ...

. He scored 24 points and had 4 rebounds and 2 steals in the team's first-round loss to the Golden Eagles.

Personal life

The son of Schamauda Thompson and Jerome Branch, he has two sisters, Karissa Couty and Jayda Branch, and two brothers, William Mason and Justin Branch. He also is the cousin of

Alec Burks Alec Burks (born July 20, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Utah Jazz as the 12th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. Burks primarily ...

of the Utah Jazz and

Marcus Denmon Marcus Edward Denmon II (born March 20, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Peristeri of the Greek Basket League. He played for the University of Missouri. He was taken 59th overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2012 NBA dr ...

of Gaziantep Basketbol. Branch majored in sports management.

References

External links

St. John's Red Storm bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, Jamal 1992 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kansas City, Missouri Basketball players from Texas Cape Breton Highlanders (basketball) players Los Angeles D-Fenders players Point guards Reno Bighorns players Shooting guards St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball players