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A decade after Sports Illustrated magazine dubbed him the "Jewish Jordan," Tamir Goodman is retiring from basketball to focus on inspiring youths with the lessons he gleaned from an adversity-filled career.

As a lanky 6-foot-3, 155-pound point guard, Goodman averaged 35.4 points per game in 11th grade for the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore and was released from a verbal commitment to the University of Maryland, an elite basketball school, because he would have had to play on Shabbat. He instead competed at nearby Towson University for two seasons before signing a three-year contract with Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Israel.

In college and for several teams in Israel, Goodman never got the playing time to match the lofty early-career expectations, but persevered through a slew of injuries until a shattered bone in his non-shooting hand for Maccabi Haifa last season was "the finishing touch," he said.

On Sept. 15 at The Jewish Children's Museum in Brooklyn, at 792 Eastern Parkway, Goodman will hold a retirement press conference at 11 a.m. to announce the specifics of his future plans, which include basketball clinics, speaker series, bar and bat mitzvah programs, a possible reality television show, and a "team for the Jewish people" featuring players of all ages who will work on special community projects.

"Now is the right time [to retire] because I physically can't play anymore," Goodman said in a phone interview with The Jewish State.

"I've been able to live the dream on the court, but now it's time to give back," he added.

Goodman, 27, runs a basketball clinic at Camp Ramah in the Poconos, and spent the rest of the summer at various other Jewish camps teaching on-court skills through the lens of Jewish pride and values like having a strong work ethic and a positive attitude, he said.

Through "Haifa Hoops For Kids," an initiative spearheaded by Maccabi Haifa, Goodman speaks at yeshiva schools, college campuses, and other institutions throughout the U.S., shedding light on Israeli culture through basketball. He also takes groups of American college students to Israel to run basketball clinics for special needs children.

"God has given me basketball as a tool to inspire others," Goodman said.

Over a seven-and-half-year professional career, Goodman said he fought through nine major injuries, including three that were career threatening. A knee injury he suffered while serving in the Israel Defense Forces required a year-and-a-half of recovery time, he said, only to see the knee get re-infected. He also suffered a complex finger dislocation, and shattered the bone in his hand last year.

"Three times the doctors told me 'this was it,' but I fought back," Goodman said.

Though he posted modest statistics on the court, Goodman said his story of resiliency helps him relate to children in need of a motivational boost. He said he grew from each setback, calling every step along the way "divinely ordained."

"How can you really help kids if you've never experienced challenges before or had any setbacks?" Goodman asked.

Despite hundreds of interview requests during his storied high school career, Goodman said he realized from the beginning that stardom "was never about me," but rather about representing the Jewish people on the court. That's why Goodman always played with his yarmulke and wore tefilin for his photo-shoot with Sports Illustrated, he said.

The intense media buzz, Goodman said, didn't distract or intimidate him.

"I never thought about it," he said. "I think when you're 16 or 17 you don't understand what it means to have four pages in Sports Illustrated and be called the Jewish Jordan."

Playing in Israel proved easier for Goodman than surviving in college basketball because of access to kosher food and no conflicts relating to Shabbat. On Friday afternoons while at Towson, Goodman recalled walking miles in the snow to hotels because practice ended too close to sundown, and searching for local Chabad houses to accommodate his needs on Shabbat.

Still, Goodman has many fond memories of his college days, including the times his non-Jewish teammates carried food into the Sukkah for him when there was no eruv, and when his Muslim roommate would turn off the television in their dorm room for Shabbat.

"Ultimately, people respect you if you are proud of your Judaism," Goodman said.

In Israeli basketball, Goodman said he became a mediator between his Jewish teammates from Israel and non-Jewish teammates from America, explaining to Americans why it was New Year's on Rosh Hashanah instead of Jan. 1, he said.

These days, Goodman said he takes pride in the fact that there are a growing number of individuals who are publicizing Judaism through their celebrity status, such as reggae singer Matisyahu and boxer Dmitriy Salita.

"Your Judaism, your work, is all one thing," he said. "We are Jewish everywhere we go. Many people are more proud of their Judaism day-to-day even though they are in the modern world."