Living Well
TAMIR GOODMAN
Sports
from page 91
Media Attention
The idea of an Orthodox Jew combin-
ing top-level college basketball with
his religious faith drew national atten-
tion. He was profiled in Sports
Illustrated, on ESPN and 60 Minutes,
and in numerous newspapers from
coast to coast.
Early in his senior high school sea-
son, however, Goodman changed his
mind. Maryland "was just a situation
where I didn't think it would work
out," he said.
According to the New York Times,
Goodman played with an injured
knee during a scrimmage against some
Maryland players. Afterwards,
Maryland Coach Gary Williams told
Goodman the school would honor its
scholarship offer, but he discouraged
Goodman from accepting it. "We
called him in and said we would still
honor the scholarship, but would he
be happy not playing?" Williams said.
Today, neither Goodman nor
Williams talks much about the situa-
tion. "I had to do what was best for
me," Goodman explained, "and I think
the way it turned out was what was best
for me and was best for them. It's good
that it happened at that time and it's
over with. It's something that I never,
ever, ever think about."
Towson Coach Mike Jaskulski
stepped into the breach and offered
Goodman a scholarship. Towson, a
Division I school, plays in the
America East Conference and is locat-
ed near Baltimore.
Towson not only accepted
Goodman's religious needs, but
rearranged its schedule to avoid any
Shabbat conflicts this season.
Additionally, the Tigers don't hold
full-scale practices during Shabbat.
They may have an occasional walk-
through to review their plays, which
Goodman will watch, but not partici-
pate in actively.
Towson has already been rewarded
for its efforts on Goodman's behalf.
The addition of the nationally-recog-
nized local player boosted season-tick-
et sales from 25 to more than 200.
Different Role
Goodman began his freshman season
coming off the bench, but earned the
starting point guard spot in Towson's
third contest. He plays over 20 minutes
per game and, through Jan. 13, averaged
5 points and 3.7 assists per contest while
serving as the Tigers' floor leader.
It's a different role than Goodman
played in high school, where he was
always the primary scorer. But he has
no complaints.
"I've always been a player who
would do what's best for the team," he
said. "At Talmudical, in order for us to
win I had to shoot 25 times a game.
That was what the coach said. Here,
my role is a little bit different ... I real-
ize that, and I try to get everyone else
around me on the same page. And we
can all have a lot of fun.
"We have four players averaging
double figures (in scoring). I like that.
I love that everyone's working together
and that really makes us really tough
to guard. And some nights I do score
"You always want to get the ball to
the hot man. And if that's my role
right now, then that's my role. And I'll
gladly take it."
Of course, Towson's basketball pro-
gram has had to adjust to Goodman as
well. Jaskulski discussed Goodman's reli-
gious needs with Towson's players before
Goodman was offered his scholarship.
The team responded positively.
"It's unbelievable," Goodman said. "I
can never thank them enough for that
or thank the America East League
enough for all they've done for me. And
I try to pay them back as best I can. The
kids here, they asked (our) coach to
recruit me and he did that. We threw all
the cards out on the table, handled what
we had to handle and we made the best
situation out of it. And I think because
of that, it's helped me get along with
them as well as I do."
Many have doubted that Goodman
could, or be allowed, to balance bas-
ketball with his faith. But Goodman
believed.
"I knew from the get-go that the
only way I'd get through it is with
God's help, that sticking strong with
my faith was the only way to survive
balancing the two. And it has been."
How does he feel about being a Jewish
role model? "That's there. Whether I
want that or not, that's there. So I'm
going to do the best I can to bring a
sense of pride.
"I love that I'm Jewish, I'm very
proud of it, I'm not going to shy away
from it. And if I can express it through
basketball, that's what I'm going to do."
Jewish Support
Goodman receives, and appreciates,
the attention he receives from the
Jewish community in Maryland, and
on the road, where he gets help in
maintaining his kosher lifestyle.
"The Chabad community in gener-
al, everywhere I go, helps me out. It's
just a great feeling to be home, away
from home. They bring me kosher
food and they do everything they have
to do to help me out."
During a Dec. 27 game at the
University of Michigan, Goodman
put all his skills on display. With a
light blue kippah pinned to his close-
cropped hair, the slender 6-foot-3
Goodman dribbled through
Michigan's full-court pressure, led the
Towson offense, dished out three
assists and hit four of five shots,
including a three-pointer. He played
with flair and obvious confidence.
His flashiest play came late in the
contest, with Towson trailing by two
points. Goodman grabbed a rebound
and brought the ball up-court, seem-
ingly at full speed. At the top of key,
however, he spotted a small seam in
the Wolverines' defense and shifted
into high gear, driving through the
lane to complete his end-to-end rush
with a flying layup.
The other Jewish player in uniform
that day, Michigan's Ron Garber, was
impressed with Goodman's play.
"He's tough. He's really steady,"
Garber said. "He didn't make any mis-
takes out there that I can think of.
He's deceptively quick, too, which you
wouldn't expect right away by looking
at him, but then he makes a quick
move to the basket and gets by a
defender. And he can finish, too. It's
tough to stop him."
Garber didn't see action in the con-
test, but his Wolverines edged
Goodman's Tigers 73-71. But Towson
is on its way to a strong season. After
finishing 11-17 last year, the Tigers
are 9-8 overall, 5-3 in conference play,
through Jan. 13.
Goodman's goal for this season is to
win the America East Conference.
Then he hopes to compete for the
U.S. basketball team in this summer's
Maccabiah Games in Israel.
Eventually, he'd like to play profes-
sional basketball, perhaps in Israel.
"I don't think about anything like
that," Goodman says. "Right now, I
just want to be the best collegiate bas-
ketball player I can be."
❑
Growing
Into The Job
It's been a long, strange trip from
Golden Valley, Minn., to the
University of Michigan's basketball
team, but Ron Garber is grateful for
his opportunity.
He didn't play basketball in high
school. The 5-feet-10 Garber was cap-
tain of the cross country and track
squads.
Garber came to U-M to attend the
business school. But as he grew to 6-
feet-8, he decided to try out for the
basketball team. He didn't make it last
year, but worked hard in the weight
room to reach 205 pounds, and
played intramural basketball plus
pick-up games with varsity players to
improve his skills. Garber earned a
Ron Garber
walk-on spot this season.
"I love playing basketball," Garber
said. "It's always been a dream of mine
to play high school or college. It just
worked out a little funny."
Garber's contributions come in
practice, where he helps the team pre-
pare for each opponent. "I'm a scout
team guy," Garber explained. "We run
the plays the other team is expected to
run ... so our (starters) get a feel for
what the other team's going to do."
Despite a lack of playing time —
Garber played a total of eight minutes
in U-M's first five games — he's satis-
fied with his contributions.
"In a tough game, it really helps to
know what the other team is going to
do," Garber said. "At the end of the
game, they're going to be running
their bread-and-butter plays. So our
guys need to know what's coming."
Garber, a junior, belongs to Temple
Israel in Minnesota, where he was very
active in the youth group. He contin-
ues to participate in the temple's vol-
unteer programs when he is home.
❑
— Mike Rosenbaum
1/19
2001
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