In the Beginning…

One fateful day when Tamir was six years old, his older brother took him to the gym to shoot some hoops. That day marked the beginning of Tamir's love for the game of basketball. Tamir lived and breathed basketball and all his hard work and commitment paid off because as just a seventh grader Tamir was already playing on the Yeshiva High of Greater Washington's varsity high school team and by eighth grade he was the team's starting point guard. While Tamir was blessed with athletic talent and basketball skills, it was his steadfast determination to be the best which provided Tamir with the edge that he needed to reach success and fulfill his dream of playing top level basketball while maintaining an observant Jewish lifestyle.

The High School Days
As a freshman Tamir attended a high school that did not have a basketball team, and he sorely missed the game which led him to change schools. Tenth and eleventh grade were extremely successful years for Tamir and his Baltimore Talmudical Academy team. Tamir, with his exceptional ability to control the game as point guard, make near impossible shots, and throw behind the back passes, led his team to a 65-11 record over two seasons in the very competitive Baltimore City Conference. In tenth grade Tamir was ranked as the fourth leading scorer in Baltimore City and in eleventh grade his team ranked number ten in the league--a ranking unheard of for a Jewish school. Tamir also participated in many prestigious camps and invitationals where he perfected and displayed his talents among some of the best high school competition in the world. The summer before eleventh grade Tamir played at the Eastern Invitational Camp where he went from initially being one of the lowest ranked players to being invited to play on the All-Star team. Although, Tamir decided not to participate in the All-Star game as it was scheduled for the Jewish Sabbath, his remarkable performance during the week long camp earned him the attention of the media and some of the best college coaches in the nation.

In eleventh grade, Tamir was the MVP of the MIBL League and the MVP of the championship tournament, made first team All Metro for Baltimore City, and had his high scoring game of 53 points at the Red Saracheck Tournament in New York City. By this time, Tamir was regarded as one of the most promising young players in the country. The combination of his magic on the court and his being an observant Jew resulted in ever increasing attention from the media, climaxing at 700 interview requests in a single week! Tamir also received attention from some of the top basketball schools, which culminated in an offer to play at one of the top basketball programs in the country at the University of Maryland. Tamir was featured on the covers of the New York Times, the Daily News, the Washington Post, and the Baltimore Sun among others and was interviewed by 60 Minutes, ESPN, CBS, and Fox Sports. Tamir was also featured in a four page spread in Sports Illustrated, where Michael Bamberger coined Tamir as the "Jewish Jordan".

Unhappy about all the media attention that the unprecedented success of the basketball team was attracting, the administration at Talmudical Academy asked Tamir to find another school to better accommodate his basketball needs for twelfth grade. Tamir was welcomed by Takoma Academy, a Seventh Day Adventist School in Washington D.C., where he completed his senior year and his high school basketball career. Although a seemingly unusual choice of school for a religious Jewish boy, Takoma was the perfect match for Tamir because Seventh Day Adventist observe the Sabbath on Saturday rather than on Sunday, and therefore do not play basketball games on Saturdays. Tamir and his team enjoyed a successful season in which Tamir finished his senior year with an average of 25 points a game in the Belt Way League. The summer following twelfth grade Tamir participated in numerous prestigious camps and leagues including the NBA /NBDL camp at Princeton University, and ABCD Adidas Camp. One of the highlights of Tamir's career was being invited to play in the renowned Michael Jordan Capital Classic All-Star Game where the best basketball players from the country come together in Washington D.C. to play a high profile game of east coast versus west coast. Tamir's eight assists in the game, which tied NBA star Jason Kidd's longstanding record, and his spectacular display of leadership as point guard helped his team clinch a come from behind win over the west coast team. Tamir was awarded the honor of being named MVP of the game for his outstanding performance, joining the ranks with other Capital Classic MVP's Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and more recently LeBron James.

Division I Ball Player

When it was time to head off to university, Tamir was faced with a disconcerting situation. The University of Maryland, which offered Tamir a full athletic scholarship, realized that Tamir was not going to change his stance of not playing on Saturdays. The school gave him an ultimatum to either play on Saturday or not play at Maryland. Tamir remained steadfast in his commitment to observing the Sabbath and made the heart wrenching decision to turn down the chance of a lifetime to play at one of the best Division 1 basketball schools. While it appeared that Tamir's dream of playing college ball was quickly vanishing, something that Tamir refers to as a "miracle" occurred. The basketball players and coaches at Towson State University, a division 1 school near Baltimore, heard about Tamir's story and respected him for remaining dedicated to his religious beliefs. The school offered Tamir a scholarship and even managed to change around the entire American East Conference schedule so that the majority of Towson's basketball games would not conflict with the Jewish Sabbath! Tamir readily agreed, and as a Towson Tiger, he became the first orthodox Jew to play Division 1 college basketball.

At Towson, Tamir won the position of starting point guard three games into the season making him the first Towson freshmen to start in eleven years. He did not let his team down—he scored 13 points and dished out six assists in his first starting game against the Villa Nova wild cats. Along with averaging six points and five assists per game, he led Towson to have their best season in many years. Tamir was awarded the Coach's Award by head coach Michael Jazzkulski for his leadership and achievements both on and off the court.

Professional Ball Player in Israel

Early into Tamir's sophomore year he decided to turn pro and signed a contract with European League Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv. After a short stint at Maccabi Tamir played for several years at rival team Maccabi Givat Shmuel, where despite being a very veteran oriented team which did not allow many minutes to young players, in the Semi-final game of the Israeli Cup Tournament Tamir hit two consecutive free throws with only several seconds on the clock to make history and put Maccabi Givat Shmuel in the championship game against his former team, Macabbi Tel-Aviv. This past season, Tamir went to play at Maccabi Shoham where he was averaging close to 20 points a game until he was sidelined with a knee injury. After successfully recovering, Tamir rejoined the team in the playoffs where he averaged seven points in just ten minutes of playing time per game.

2008 Tamir is a Maryland Nighthawk

Recently Tamir signed a contract with the Maryland Nighthawks making him the first observant Jew to play professional basketball in America with out having to play on the Jewish Sabbath. The Nighthawks compete in the Premiere Basketball League and will start playing in 2008. For more information on the Nighthawks please visit their website Marylandnighthawks.com

Family, Army Service, Coaching, Charity Work, and the Future

Tamir met his wife, Judy, a fellow American, in Israel and they now have two children—a girl and a boy. Despite Tamir's exemption from military service due to his basketball career, he nevertheless volunteered to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces for seven months to help protect the country. Tamir's work ethic that won him success on the basketball court carried him through the army where he was awarded the Most Outstanding Soldier Award out of his entire boot camp platoon. After boot camp Tamir was sent to an APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) course where he learned everything there is to know about APCs and how to fix them when damaged in wartime.

Tamir is committed to using his basketball abilities to inspire youth to make positive choices in their lives. Having great rapport with youth, Tamir has run basketball clinics, performed for, and spoken to thousands of kids across North America, Israel, and England about using their unique talents to overcome challenges and reach personal success.

 Using basketball and other sports to help underprivileged children and victims of war and terrorism.

Tamir is looking forward to many more productive and successful seasons—both on and off the basketball court.