Jamal Branch

Jamal Branch
Personal information
Born	September 30, 1992 (age 32); Kansas City, Missouri
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	Atascocita (Humble, Texas); Grace Preparatory Academy; (Arlington, Texas)
College	Texas A&M (2011–2012); St. John's (2012–2015);
NBA draft	2015: undrafted
Playing career	2015–present
Position	Point guard / shooting guard
Career history
2015–2016	Los Angeles D-Fenders
2016–2017	Reno Bighorns
2018–2019	Cape Breton Highlanders

Jamal Edward Branch (born September 30, 1992) is an American professional basketball 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 before transferring to Grace Preparatory Academy. 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.^[1]

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.^[2] Before his sophomore season, he transferred to St. John's^[2] where he averaged 4.8 points 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 22 minutes per game as a senior.^[1]^[3]

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,^[4] but left before playing for them. On October 31, Branch was selected by the Los Angeles D-Fenders with the 41st overall pick in the 2015 NBA Development League Draft.^[5] However, he was waived by the D-Fenders on January 6, 2016.^[6] In 10 games with the D-Fenders, he averaged 1.1 points in 6.4 minutes per game.^[7] On April 7, 2016, Branch was re-signed by the D-Fenders for the D-League playoffs.^[8]

Reno Bighorns (2016–2017)

On October 30, 2016, Branch was acquired by the Reno Bighorns in a draft-day trade with the D-Fenders.^[9] On February 28, 2017, Branch was waived by the Bighorns.^[10]

The Basketball Tournament

Jamal Branch played for Team Johnnies in the 2018 edition of The Basketball Tournament. 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 of the Utah Jazz and Marcus Denmon of Gaziantep Basketbol. Branch majored in sports management.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "St. John's bio". RedStormSports.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Jamal Branch transfers to St. John's". ESPN.com. January 17, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
^ Mauriello, Troy (November 2, 2015). "Rysheed Jordan and Jamal Branch get a Shot in the D-League". RumbleInTheGarden.com. SB-Nation. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
^ "Iskra Svit signs rookie Jamal Branch". Sportando.com. August 29, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
^ "2015 NBA D-League Draft Board". NBA.com. October 31, 2015. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
^ "D-Fenders Acquire Speedy Smith". OurSportsCentral.com. January 6, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
^ "RealGM profile". RealGM.com. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
^ Medina, Mark (April 7, 2016). "Jabari Brown to miss rest of D-Fenders' season with patellar tendinitis in left leg". InsideLocal.com. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
^ Jones, Kyle (October 30, 2016). "THE BIGHORNS SELECT FOUR PLAYERS IN THE 2016 NBA D-LEAGUE DRAFT". NBA.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
^ "NBA D-League Transactions". NBA.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2017.

External links

St. John's Red Storm bio

Currently (Teaching at Summer Creek Middle School) Fort Worth, TX

[SJBio-1] "St. John's bio". RedStormSports.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.

[Transfer-2] "Jamal Branch transfers to St. John's". ESPN.com. January 17, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2016.

[3] Mauriello, Troy (November 2, 2015). "Rysheed Jordan and Jamal Branch get a Shot in the D-League". RumbleInTheGarden.com. SB-Nation. Retrieved October 23, 2016.

[4] "Iskra Svit signs rookie Jamal Branch". Sportando.com. August 29, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2016.

[5] "2015 NBA D-League Draft Board". NBA.com. October 31, 2015. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.

[6] "D-Fenders Acquire Speedy Smith". OurSportsCentral.com. January 6, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.

[7] "RealGM profile". RealGM.com. Retrieved October 23, 2016.

[8] Medina, Mark (April 7, 2016). "Jabari Brown to miss rest of D-Fenders' season with patellar tendinitis in left leg". InsideLocal.com. Retrieved October 23, 2016.

[9] Jones, Kyle (October 30, 2016). "THE BIGHORNS SELECT FOUR PLAYERS IN THE 2016 NBA D-LEAGUE DRAFT". NBA.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.

[10] "NBA D-League Transactions". NBA.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2017.

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