GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Electric continue to build their roster as they get prepared for their first season in The Basketball League (TBL).
After signing their first two athletes, Brendan Howard and Isaac Howard, the team has now added former University of Montana star Kareem Jamar. In Jamar’s junior year for the Grizzlies, he averaged 14.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4 assists per game, which earned him Big Sky Conference player of the year and Associated Press honorable mention All-American.
“I’m excited. Honestly, I never thought I was going to lace them back up again. That was really never my plan,” said Jamar. “When I retired to do Prolific here in Great Falls, I decided I was going to be done.”
Following his career with the Griz, Jamar went on to play professionally in Greece, Austria, Israel and Ukraine. Making the decision to retire early, Jamar returned to Montana and settled in Great Falls where he would begin running his Prolific Basketball Academy for youth. Adding onto his plate, he became an assistant coach for the Great Falls CMR girls basketball team at the start of the 2022-23 basketball season.
Ironically, those very reasons for retiring have become the same reasons he has chosen to return to the court.
“Well, it's home, right? It’s Great Falls. I live in Great Falls now so that obviously makes it easier,” said Jamar. “Being able to play in front of the family of Prolific, in front of the kids, and once again show kind of how the game is supposed fro be played. And I still have a little left in the tank. I have a couple more years in me to show what I got.”
Jamar is set to play in all of the home games plus playoffs but is still in talks about competing in regular-season away games.