Jai Lamar Lewis (born February 13, 1983) is an American former basketball player who last played for Sabios de-Manizales in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. He now works as a behavioral specialist in Parkville, Maryland.

College career

He grew up in Germany to US Army serving parents and began to play basketball while there at the age of 6. When he turned 8 his family moved to Aberdeen, Maryland, where he played for the local Aberdeen High School. He is best known for his career in college basketball at

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

. A power forward, Lewis was the primary inside force for the Patriots during their " Cinderella" run to the 2006 Final Four. Lewis was selected as the 47th pick overall in the 2006 CBA Draft by the Pittsburgh Xplosion.

NFL attempt

Lewis was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of the National Football League following the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

wanting to pursue a career similar to

Antonio Gates Antonio Ethan Gates Sr. (born June 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers during his entire career in the National Football League (NFL). He was named to the Pro ...

and Marcus Pollard. He ended his pursuit of an NFL career as an offensive tackle to pursue his basketball options. Although he was listed at Mason as 6'7", 275 lb (2.01 m, 125 kg), the Giants listed him at 6'5", 292 lb (1.96 m, 133 kg).

Professional career

Weeks after leaving the Giants, Lewis signed with

KK Bosna KK Bosna Meridianbet ( bs, Košarkaški klub Bosna Meridianbet) is a professional basketball team based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the most successful Bosnian club of all time, having been the EuroLeague champion by winning the 1 ...

for $8,000 a month. Lewis was expected to play a significant role for the defending champions. However, Lewis was released from his contract in just six weeks. The team felt he was too small to play power forward in the Adriatic League. Shortly after leaving Bosna, Lewis signed to play in Israel for Ironi Ramat Gan. The contract was for "more than $5,000 a month". In twenty-seven games, he averaged 15.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals. Following his rookie season in Israel, Jai Lewis signed with

Strasbourg IG Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League, and ...

, a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

team. Just four games into the season, with Lewis averaging only 3 points on 27% shooting, Strasbourg released Lewis. After playing for Strasbourg, Jai Lewis signed with Hapoel Galil Elyon, another Israeli team who took part in the ULEB Cup, to finish the 2008 season. He finished the season averaging 12.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in league play. Next, Lewis played for the

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association owned by Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc. It debuted in the league in the 2006–07 PBA season after acquiring the franchise righ ...

in the Philippine Basketball Association along with former George Mason University teammate Fil-Am guard Gabe Norwood. Prior to the 2010-11 season, he returned to Ironi Ramat Gan from Israel, and played in Liga Leumit for 4 games in 2010. He then moved to Japan to play top basketball. In 2013, after playing in Colombia he retired from professional basketball.

External links

George Mason Patriots bio

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Jai 1983 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Bosnia and Herzegovina American expatriate basketball people in Colombia American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American men's basketball players Basketball players from Maryland Changwon LG Sakers players George Mason Patriots men's basketball players Hapoel Galil Elyon players Ironi Ramat Gan players Israeli Basketball Premier League players KK Bosna Royal players Levanga Hokkaido players People from Aberdeen, Maryland Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards (basketball) Rain or Shine Elasto Painters players SIG Basket players Sportspeople from the Baltimore metropolitan area Sun Rockers Shibuya players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people

College career

NFL attempt

Professional career

See also

External links

References