Former Bull Jarrid Famous Continues Career in the Philippines

Although many former NCAA athletes take different routes to the pros, former USF forward Jarrid Famous has found his way to play in the Philippines. After playing his last season with the Bulls last year and leaving the NBA D-League after a quick stint, Famous appeared in three games for the Meralco Bolts of the PBA. Although Famous delivered great numbers he was dropped from the team after losing two of the three games.

The two major Philippines leagues are the PBA and ABL. Restrictions allow only one foreign player per team in the PBA. If these “imports” don’t instantly succeed they often taken most of the fault and get replaced by other Americans looking for work abroad. In this case, Meralco lost their patience with Famous quickly and didn’t give him more opportunities to stick with the team although he scored 26 PPG while grabbing 15 boards in 43.7 minutes.

Only a couple of days after being replaced by the Bolts, the San Miguel Beer man signed Famous to play in the ABL. The ABL is considered the lesser league, but allows two imports per team. In addition to Famous, San Miguel also has Dalron Johnson under contract. Johnson played at UNLV in the early 2000s before starting his basketball journey that has gone through Europe and Asia, having played in countries such as Turkey and Israel.

According to Rafe Bartholomew, author of Pacific Rims and New York City native who lived in the Philippines to study Basketball culture and now writes for Grantland, San Miguel lets Famous do the rebounding while Johnson handles the scoring. Famous has been off to a slow start due to some travel complications, currently averaging 24 minutes, 12 points, and 4.8 rebounds per game.

I’ve personally read Pacific Rims, and Famous will enjoy his stay in the Philippines. Basketball players are treated like royalty as much of the peoples culture is centered on the sport. Famous will play a big role in the league while enjoying great treatment and making decent money to take back home. It’s always great to see Bulls continue their athletic journey, and it looks like Famous is preparing for a career overseas that could gain him quite the bit of wealth over the years.