When Jamal Abu-Shamala graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2009, he played basketball overseas for three years.
Once that part of his life was over it meant diving into the real world. Finding a job. Figuring out a career.
The U helped him start a resume and begin networking, but there were no mentors who had gone through a similar experience to show him the way. Many players faced the same situation after playing in college.
That's why the 29-year-old Shakopee, Minn. native decided to start a Gophers basketball alumni program this summer to give past, present and future players support beyond their playing careers.
"As far as figuring out a path and talking to someone in my shoes who had been through it, that was lacking," Abu-Shamala, a Principal Financial group representative, said. "There's a need for this. I've been wanting to do it. Finally, I got enough guys who were really interested and supportive of the idea."
On Sunday, the Gophers basketball alumni and the team got together for a roundtable at Williams Arena's club room. They split up in groups and had conversations about basketball and life after basketball.
Some of the alumni present included Darryl Mitchell (1979-82), Richard Coffey (1987-91), John Thomas (1993-97) and Quincy Lewis (1996-99).
"For us being former players, it gives us an opportunity to connect with the current team," Thomas, the Ultimate Hoops national training manager, said. "It was important for us to establish that trust factor for them to get a sense of us being down different paths in our career. If we can provide some takeaways for them, I think that's a benefit for the team regardless of the number of wins or losses they have. It's about how they set up success for themselves after they stop playing."
