DURHAM, N.C. – On July 27, former North Carolina Central University men’s basketball forward Karamo Jawara received a contract offer to return home and play professional basketball in Europe, as the Norwegian signed with U-Mobitelco Cluj-Napoca in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

“I was excited to know they offered me,” Jawara said.  “After talking to the coach and I did my research I knew that it would be a good situation for me.”

Jawara was a four-year player for head coach LeVelle Moton at NCCU, and earned preseason and postseason All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference honors in his senior year.  That season, he started all 33 games for the Eagles and averaged a career-high 7.6 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game, with 2.3 assists per game from the post to go along with it.  He shot 70.8 percent from the free throw line, 44.3 percent from the floor and 35.9 percent from the arc, and in fact shot 30.3 percent from downtown over his career.

From Bergen, Norway, Jawara is excited to be continuing his career in Europe, closer to family.  “It’s wonderful.  I'm closer to home and it’s easier for the closest ones to come see me play or just to visit. My playing style is more of a European style, so my game fits better here.”

“He’s the most competitive young man I’ve ever coached,” Coach Moton said about Jawara.  “His presence was like having another coach on the floor and in the locker room. He established an intolerance for anything or anyone that compromised winning and that made everyone around him better. I'm elated that he has the opportunity to pursue a career in basketball and take care of his family. Lastly, he received his degree in four years which is something they can never take away.”

Along with being able to play professionally closer to home, Jawara also said he is excited to be able to make an impact on younger kids in Norway.  “I'm just grateful that I am in the situation I'm in, and that NCCU gave me a chance to develop as a player and a man.  It's always bigger than yourself and for the younger people in Norway to see that I managed to play D-I, and now being able to take care of my family is a big inspiration for them.  Children close their ears to advice, but open their eyes to examples.”

U-Mobitelco, or U-Cluj, play in the Liga Nationala which is the top-tier league in Romania.  The club has won the league championship four times, as recently as the 2010-11 season.