He's been called the "Jewish Dwight Howard", and while that might be a bit of an overstatement, Aaron Liberman is still a pioneer in the Jewish sporting world.
A freshman at Northwestern, Liberman is the second Division I player to wear a Yarmulke, the small skullcap that some religious Jews wear. Towson's Tamir Goodman is believed to be the first Division I basketball player to wear a Yarmulke when he played for the Tigers 10 years ago.
Liberman says his teammates have been nothing but respectful of his decision.
"Everyone here has been great toward me, and nobody's said anything about the yarmulke," Liberman told ESPN.com. "Everyone's cool with it. They just see me as one of the guys."
The 6-foot-10 Liberman is likely the first player to wear tzitzit under his uniform, something Goodman did not do. Tzitzit are a collection of specially knotted threads which some observant Jews wear as an undergarment.
After a very successful career at Valley Torah High School in Los Angeles, Liberman studied in Israel for one year before walking on at Northwestern. He has been sidelined with shin splints and has yet to get in a game.
Paul Lukas of ESPN reported that Northwestern has made two Yarmulkes for Liberman: purple and white for home games and purple and black for road games.
