Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio,[2] Billups attended Shroder High School, where he graduated in 2011. He averaged 19.2 points and 8.6 rebounds as a senior and was named to the all-city team and earned All-Cincinnati Metro Atlantic Conference accolades.[3]
College career
As a freshman with the Northern Kentucky Norse in 2011–12 in the NCAA Division II, Billups played 25 games with five starts and averaged 5.0 points per game. He scored a season-high 16 points against Lane College on November 18, 2011.[3]
For the 2012–13 season, the Norse entered the NCAA Division I.[4] Billups started seven games to begin the season before missing the final 19 games due to a medical condition.[3] In December 2012, just days after Christmas, he collapsed during practice. He was diagnosed with an arrhythmia, caused by problems with the system that regulates a steady heartbeat, and subsequently had a defibrillator placed inside his body in September 2013.[5][6] The season was classified as a medical redshirt year for Billups, which deemed him eligible for three more years upon being cleared to return to play.[6][7]
In the 2013–14 season, Billups saw action in all 30 games with 25 starts. He was third on the team in scoring (9.6 ppg) and first in rebounding (5.2 rpg).[3] He scored a career-high 25 points in NKU's 91–86 overtime win over Tulane on November 24, 2013.[8]
As a junior in 2014–15, Billups played 30 games with four starts and averaged 11.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.[9] He subsequently earned second-team All-A-Sun honors.[3]
As a senior in 2015–16, Billups led NKU in scoring at 12.2 points per game to go with 5.5 rebounds. He recorded five 20-point outings during the season, including a season-high 22 points in a win against Oakland on January 19, 2016.[3] He again played in 30 games and started 29 of them.[9]
Billups graduated 20th all-time in scoring with 1,185 points and 11th in rebounds with 599. His 62.0 percent career shooting was second-best all time in 2016.[3]
Professional career
Billups moved to Australia in early 2017 to play for the Cockburn Cougars of the State Basketball League (SBL).[10][11] He recorded season highs of 40 points and 16 rebounds on May 6 against the Willetton Tigers.[12] He was named SBL Player of the Week four times[13] and helped the Cougars finish the regular season in seventh place with a 15–11 record.[14] They went on to lose 2–1 to the Joondalup Wolves in the quarter-finals.[15] In 29 games during the 2017 SBL season, he averaged 23.83 points, 9.76 rebounds and 1.59 assists per game.[12]
On August 24, 2017, Billups signed with the Glasgow Rocks of the British Basketball League (BBL) for the 2017–18 season.[16] He was named in the BBL All-Star Five for week four.[17] He played 12 games for the Rocks between October 1 and December 3, averaging 15.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 assist per game.[18]
On January 15, 2018, Billups signed with the Joondalup Wolves for the 2018 SBL season.[19] He scored a season-high 34 points on July 14 against the Lakeside Lightning.[20] He was named SBL Player of the Week two times[21][22] and helped the Wolves finish the regular season in second place with a 21–5 record.[23] They went on to reach the SBL Grand Final after going undefeated over the first two rounds of the finals.[24] In the grand final, the Wolves lost 94–87 to the Perry Lakes Hawks despite Billups' 22 points and 13 rebounds, with foul trouble limiting him to 24 minutes.[25] For the season, he was named the SBL MVP and earned All-SBL First Team honors.[26] In 31 games, he averaged 23.87 points, 8.16 rebounds and 1.48 assists per game.[20]
On December 10, 2018, Billups signed with the Southern Huskies for their inaugural season in the New Zealand NBL.[32] In their third game of the 2019 season on April 21, he recorded 32 points and 15 rebounds against the Hawke's Bay Hawks.[33] He was subsequently named NZNBL Player of the Week for round two[34] and over the course of the season earned three Team of the Week honors.[35][36][37] The Huskies missed the finals with a fifth-place finish and a 9–9 record.[38] In 18 games, he averaged 21.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.[39][40]
On August 30, 2021, Billups signed with the Toyoda Gosei Scorpions of the Japanese B.League third division.[43] He had three 40-point games throughout the 2021–22 season,[18] including 46 points on January 22, 2022, against the Yamaguchi Patriots.[44] The Scorpions finished the season in 13th place with a 9–39 record.[45] In 48 games, he averaged 20.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.[46]
^"Huskies sign man mountain as momentum grows for debut season". themercury.com.au. December 10, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2022. American Jalen Billups — a 200cm, 120kg power forward — has officially joined the club as one of its marquee imports for next year's New Zealand NBL season.
^"新規外国籍選手の契約締結についてお知らせ". scorpions.toyoda-gosei.co.jp (in Japanese). August 30, 2021. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2022.