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A young Tamir Goodman taking in a Clemson/Maryland basketball game in 1999 (Photo by Doug Pensinger, Getty Images Sport)

After Sports Illustrated profiled Tamir Goodman in 1999, his life changed forever.  Goodman had been dubbed ‘the Jewish Jordan’ for his amazing abilities on the basketball court.  He also happened to be an Orthodox Jew, which dramatically altered his schedule.

Even though he accepted a scholarship to Maryland in his junior season, he had to regretfully inform coach Gary Williams he would not be able to attend because of his devotion to the Shabbat.

Goodman attended Towson University in Baltimore, but after a falling out with the coach he signed a professional contract in Israel in 2002.  By then, most of the media circus that surrounded him in high school had subsided.

Thirteen years after he became a household name, I decided to catch up with the man once dubbed ‘the Jewish Jordan.’

A week after that article came out we had 700 media requests.

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When I was younger, before I got injured, I definitely had enough talent to play in the NBA

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For more information on Tamir Goodman check out his website TamirGoodman.com