Jackson Vroman


Jackson Brett Vroman was an American-born Lebanese professional basketball player. He was naturalized as a Lebanese citizen to play for the Lebanon national basketball team, replacing the other naturalized American Lebanese player, Joe Vogel. He is the son of former NBA player Brett Vroman, who played briefly for the Utah Jazz in the 1980–81 NBA season.

Early life and education

His senior year in high school, he played at Viewmont High School in Bountiful, Utah for coach Emery. He later attended and played basketball at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah and Iowa State University. During his time at Iowa State, Vroman was a subject of an NCAA rule violation when it was revealed that his former head coach Larry Eustachy paid players, including Vroman, for making free throws during practice and games during the 2002-03 season.

Professional career

Jackson was a second-round draft pick of the Chicago Bulls in the 2004 NBA draft. He played for the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Hornets/New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, averaging 4.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
During the 2004–05 NBA season he was part of a trade that saw him and teammates Casey Jacobsen and Maciej Lampe being sent to the Hornets for guard Jim Jackson.
In the 2006/07 season he played for CB Gran Canaria in the Spanish ACB. He began the 2007/08 season with CB Girona before being signed by BC Lietuvos Rytas in February 2008. In October 2010 he signed with the Dongguan Leopards in China. For the 2011–2012 season, he signed with the Incheon ET Land Elephants in South Korea, but in December 2011, he signed a contract with the Jiangsu Dragons.
He then signed for the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the Philippines and played his first game for them on March 4, 2012. Later that year, he joined the Shandong Lions of China.

Personal life

His father, Brett had a 12-year basketball career and played for the Utah Jazz during the 1980–81 NBA season.

Death

Vroman was found dead in a swimming pool at his home in Los Angeles County, California on June 29, 2015. The death was ruled accidental; security camera footage showed him falling into his pool. Autopsy showed an enlarged heart, with toxicology reports showing ketamine, cocaine and GHB in his system.

Honours

Club