Jamaal Tatum
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| Jamaal Tatum | |
|---|---|
| College | Southern Illinois |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Class | Senior |
| Career | 2003 – 2007 |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 175 lb (80 kg) |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Born | September 9, 1984 (age 22) Jefferson City, Missouri |
| High School | Helias High School, Jefferson City, Missouri |
| Awards | |
| Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, 2007 | |
Jamaal Tatum (born September 9, 1984 in Jefferson City, Missouri) is a current college basketball guard for the Southern Illinois Salukis. He has finished his senior season at the school and is 6'2" and 175 pounds (1.88 m, 80 kg).
As a high schooler, Tatum was a finalist as the Missouri Mr. Basketball, becoming the leading scorer at Helias High School in Jefferson City. He ended up setting the school record for points in a game (46). Tatum is noted for also lettering in football as a sophomore and soccer as a freshman, and consistently posting an excellent GPA, possibly due to both his parents being involved in the education system (Tatum's father is a professor of art at Lincoln University[1] and his mother is the supervisor of Jefferson City Public Schools). In his first semester at SIU, Tatum posted a 4.0 GPA.
Rising to the status of a star basketball player at Southern Illinois, Tatum is known for his incredible quickness and great long-range shooting. In only his freshman season, he was second in the Missouri Valley Conference in three-point shooting (45.6%).
By the time he was a junior, he had led the Salukis back to prominence and took them to the 2006 NCAA Tournament as a #11 seed, where they would lose to West Virginia in the first round, but Tatum was named the CBS player of the game for his team. That year, he led the team in scoring (15 ppg) and received various Missouri Valley Conference awards.
This year, his final season as a Saluki, Tatum received Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors. Tatum has risen his game to a new level and has helped SIU to become, what many think, will permamently be a prominent basketball program. 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 (#8) and Kansas (#11). The Salukis received a #4 seed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament and went on to easily beat Holy Cross in the first round. Facing #5 seed Virginia Tech in the second round, they won surprisingly easily, holding the Hokies to just 48 points with great defense, winning 63-48. Tatum had 21 points and was 7-for-15 from field goal range in the win. They faced top-seeded Kansas in their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since the 2001 tournament, and lost a tight game, 61-58, because of some key mistakes at the end. Tatum came up with some big shots at the end, but his 19 points wasn't enough to defeat the Jayhawks. However, with their 29th win of the season coming against Virginia Tech, the Salukis surpassed the win total of the 2001 team.
[edit] Sources
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ College of Liberal Arts, Education & Journalism Faculty and Staff Listing. Lincoln University (Missouri). Retrieved on March 19, 2007. See James Tatum.
