JJ Kaplan
American-Israeli basketball player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jarrett Jay Kaplan[1] (Hebrew: ג'יי ג'יי קפלן; born May 28, 1997) is an American-Israeli[2] basketball player who plays guard for Maccabi Rishon LeZion in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for the Chargers at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
| No. 25 – Maccabi Rishon LeZion | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| League | Israeli Basketball Premier League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 28 May 1997 Huntsville, Alabama, United States |
| Nationality | American / Israeli |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Virgil I. Grissom High School (Huntsville, Alabama) |
| College | University of Alabama in Huntsville |
| Playing career | 2021–present |
| Career history | |
| 2021–2025 | Ironi Kiryat Ata |
| 2025–present | Maccabi Rishon LeZion |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Early life and high school
Kaplan was born and grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, is Jewish, and had a bar mitzvah and keeps kosher.[3][2][4][5] He is 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) tall, and weighs 210 pounds (95 kg).[6]
He attended Virgil I. Grissom High School ('16) in Huntsville, Alabama.[6][7] Playing basketball for the Tigers in his junior season, Kaplan was named to the all-area team and the all-area tournament team.[8][4] In his senior season, he averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists per game, was named to the all-area and all-state teams, and was named to the all-area tournament team.[4] As a teenager, he also played in Maccabi Games in Germany with Team USA.[3][9]
College career
Kaplan attended and played basketball for the Chargers at the University of Alabama in Huntsville ('21), as he double-majored in Economics and Finance.[10][11] In 2017–18, he averaged 3.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.[4]
In 2018–19, Kaplan averaged 13.7 points and 8.6 rebounds (2nd in the Gulf South Conference (GSC)) per game, and was 2nd in the conference in field goal percentage (52.8%), and was 21st in the nation with 281 rebounds.[4][5] He was named Jewish Sports Review All-American, Second Team All-Gulf South Conference, Gulf South All-Tournament Team, College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District, GSC All-Academic Team, and GSC Academic Honor Roll.[4][10][8]
In 2019–20, he averaged 11.6 points and 9.1 rebounds (2nd in the GSC) per game, and led the GSC and was 21st in the nation in total rebounds (282).[4] Kaplan was named Jewish Sports Review All-American, Second Team All-Gulf South Conference, GSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, GSC All-Tournament Team, CoSIDA Academic All-District, and GSC Academic Honor Roll.[4][8]
In 2020–21, despite a shin injury, Kaplan averaged 11.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.[4][5] He was named First Team All-Gulf South Conference in 2021.[10] Career-wise, he had the fourth-most rebounds and ninth-most rebounds-per-game in school history.[12]
Professional career
On June 27, 2021, after living his entire life in Huntsville, Kaplan signed with Ironi Kiryat Ata.[9][6][13] He said: "It has been a dream of mine to play basketball in Israel since I was in high school, and now I am happy to announce that the dream has come true."[12] That season, he and the team won a National League championship.[13]
On November 19, 2022, Kaplan again signed with Ironi Kiryat Ata, in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[10]