Jacob Calloway
After opting to sit out last season, Juneau’s Jacob Calloway has returned to professional basketball overseas.
The 25-year-old signed with Tigrillos of the Colombian LPB league and looks to pick up where he left off after averaging double figures in both the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
So far, so good.
Calloway made a successful debut with a 20-point, 5-rebound effort to highlight his team’s 76-60 season-opening victory.
“Life’s great. I’m always happy whenever I get a chance to play,” he said. “I’m not really sure how I ended up here, but things have been good.”
Calloway, of Thunder Mountain High fame, arrived in South America with a solid resume since turning pro in 2019 out of Southern Utah University.
In Switzerland, he averaged 15.3 points and 4.9 rebounds with Pully.
In the Czech Republic, he averaged in 13.4 points and 5.9 rebounds with NH Ostrava.
This was his first international game in more than a year.
“I missed the chance to compete at a high level,” said Calloway, who sat out last season, even though he had different offers from international teams to play.
Many factors played a role in why the 6-foot-8 forward didn’t lace ‘em up, probably the biggest being contract disputes.
He wasn’t alone. A slew of American players sat out last season in protest to poor contract offers.
But things have been better in Colombia.
“The team is paying me really well and treating me well on and off the court,” he said. “Things have been really professional.”
Life is good off the court as well.
“Everybody is really nice and welcoming,” he said.
Calloway spent his offseason playing in the Miami Pro-Am, bidding his time before he got another chance to play pro ball again.
“I stayed in shape in a bunch of different ways from training with trainers Zbo, Ryan 2hands and Kevin Grayer,” he said.
“In late August, I started dieting, lifting and running a lot to get in better shape and tried to stay away from social media to focus on getting ready.”