Where Are They Now: Jan Jagla

This came up in a conversation today so I feel obligated to pass it along. In involves a very a very large European who once stood damn near up to the ceiling on my buddie's living room wall:

Ok, this isn't the actual poster that I remember, but instead is Jan standing next to a grown ass man who comes up to his knees.
I wondered whatever happen to him, I mean 7 foot tall people don't just disappear, do they? Per his wikipedia page, which was apparently written by his mother:

Jan-Hendrik Jagla (born June 25, 1981 in Berlin, Germany) is a German professional basketball player. He spent three seasons (2001/02-2003/04) at the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania before turning pro. He went undrafted in the 2005 NBA Draft. He was signed by the Los Angeles Clippers for their 2005 training camp, but cut from the roster later. Though he stands 7 feet tall, Jan has the game of a 2-guard, and his game much resembles that of Dirk Nowitzki. Jan was also known to be a point forward in his college days, and would regularly bring the ball up the floor....He played for Türk Telekom B.K. of the Turkish premier division with high expectations for the 2006/2007 season. He is currently playing for Joventut Badalona from Spain. [emphasis added]

Dirk Nowitzki? Ok, my hockey game "much resembles" that of Paul Coffey, only I am not as quick, strong or smart. My shot is also much weaker and I do not have his vision. I also do not have my own line of hockey sticks...all minor details.

While that's all good stuff, this is the best part:

Always a fan favorite at Penn State, Jagla could often be seen at local bars and nightclubs, where he was eager to sign autographs. In fact, fans so loved the 7 foot star that Penn State's Student Bookstore ran a promotional campaign passing out Jagla "Measure Up" posters at Penn State Basketball games

So there is the "Measure Up" poster I was talking about (but cannot find, anyone with better search skills is encouraged to email me a link). I do remember seeing Jan often, but I think is was more a function of his height than anything else. As for the rest of it, I don't have much to add except that everyone at Penn State can "often be seen at local bars" and as far as I know there are no "nightclubs" in State College (for the record, a bar with black lights is not a nightclub, it is a bar).

Re: Foul Shots

I am not a basketball expert. I know how the game works, and even some of the more in depth strategy that gets employed by those who run things, but no one has ever come to me for advise regarding the sport. Ok, glad we got that out of the way.

With that being said, what the hell is the deal with Penn State foul shooting? For those of you ready to jump on the band wagon, realize that the team is shooting 60% form the line. You don't shoot that poorly from the line and win much. I would guess that 60% of the people reading this could shoot better than 60% from the line, 100% of the time. Add that up. So, 60%, that's, what, like last in the Big Ten? Second to last I guess. Ya, a lot more like a Penn State basketball team.

But seriously, of the four guys on the team with more than 20 attempts, only David Jackson is shooting better than 70%. For comparison, Michigan State has eight guys that are shooting free throws better than that. Eight guys!

Now before I get accused of hating on Penn State basketball, know that I am not. I want them to win, I've even paid to see them play. I just know that over the past 5 or 6 years they perpetually think they have a good team, and don't. They've finished in last place like five times since 2001.

I want them to improve. I don't want to have to write posts about how they shoot foul shots at a lower percentage than the youth league team my friend started coaching. I want them to compete at the next level, and they should be able to. They are the basketball team of a Big Ten school, with Big Ten resources. No one except Northwestern has been bottom feeding* as long as we have and it doesn't make any sense.



*Does the term "bottom feeding" even apply when you finish dead last five times since 2002? Are you really "bottom feeding" on anything when you are that bad?