Zach Thomas (basketball)

Zachary Ryan Thomas (born June 21, 1996) is an American formerly a professional basketball player for Keravnos of the Cypriot League. He played college basketball for Bucknell University. Now a graduate assistant coach at the University of Kentucky.

Zach Thomas
Thomas with VL Pesaro in October 2019
No. 23 – Keravnos
PositionPower forward
LeagueCypriot League
Personal information
Born (1996-06-21) June 21, 1996
Maplewood, Minnesota
NationalityAmerican
Listed height2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Listed weight103 kg (227 lb)
Career information
High schoolOakdale (Ijamsville, Maryland)
CollegeBucknell (2014–2018)
NBA draft2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019Okapi Aalstar
2019–2020VL Pesaro
2020–2021Budivelnyk
2021Wilki Morskie Szczecin
2021–2022Bisons Loimaa
2022Norrköping Dolphins
2022–presentKeravnos
Career highlights and awards

College career
Thomas in January 2018, playing for Bucknell

A 6'7" power forward, Thomas came to Bucknell from Oakdale High School in Ijamsville, Maryland. Thomas had a standout career at Oakdale, ultimately becoming the all-time leading scorer in Frederick County history and the first player to eclipse the 2,000 point mark.[1] He selected Bucknell based on their basketball success and academic reputation.[2]

Thomas worked his way into the starting lineup in his sophomore season, then enjoyed a breakout season as a junior in 2016–17. He averaged 15.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, and was ultimately named to first-team All-Patriot League alongside classmate Nana Foulland.[3] In the 2017 Patriot League tournament, Thomas led the Bison to the league title, scoring 17 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the title game, earning Most Valuable Player honors.[4][5] With the win, the Bison advanced to the 2017 NCAA tournament, where they lost to 4 seed West Virginia in the first round.

Thomas entered the 2017–18 season as a preseason All-Patriot League selection.[6] Additionally, he was named to the Lou Henson Award mid-season watch list.

On February 26, 2018, Thomas was named Patriot League Player of the Year.[7]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Thomas was later included in the 2018 NBA Summer League roster of the Utah Jazz.[8] On July 27, 2018, Thomas signed with Okapi Aalstar in Belgium.[9] After a successful year playing in Belgium, Thomas was brought into the NBA Summer League once again, this time to play for the Houston Rockets.[10]

On July 17, 2019, he signed with VL Pesaro of Italian Lega Basket Serie A.[11] But due to the coronavirus pandemic in Italy and the suspension of the Italian league,[12] Thomas left the team on March 10.[13]

On October 13, 2020, Thomas signed with BC Budivelnyk in Ukraine.[14]

On January 6, 2021, he signed with Wilki Morskie Szczecin of the PLK.[15] Thomas averaged 6.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.

On September 6, 2021, he signed with Bisons Loimaa of the Koripallon I-divisioona.[16]

During summer 2022, he signed with Keravnos of the Cypriot League.

References
  1. Swatek, Greg (February 1, 2014). "Oakdale's Zach Thomas scores 2,000 point". Frederick News-Post. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  2. Markus, Don (November 17, 2017). "Balancing act for Bucknell's Zach Thomas always leans toward basketball". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  3. "2016-17 Men's basketball All-Patriot League team and major awards announced". Patriot League. February 27, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  4. Gelston, Dan (March 8, 2017). "Bucknell tops Lehigh 81-65 in Patriot League final". Associated Press. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  5. Jones, Gordie (March 8, 2017). "Zach Thomas, Bucknell again fully immersed in the madness". American Sports Network. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  6. Miller, Stephen (October 18, 2017). "Lehigh picked fourth in Patriot League men's basketball poll; Lafayette pegged for 10th". The Morning Call. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  7. "Men's basketball 2017-18 All-Patriot League teams and major awards announced (2.26.18)" (Press release). Patriot League. February 26, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  8. "Jazz Announce Mini-Camp Roster for 2018 Summer League". NBA.com. June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  9. "Okapi Aalstar signs rookie Zach Thomas". Sportando. July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  10. "2019 Las Vegas Summer League Roster Announced". NBA.com. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  11. Carchia, Emiliano (August 2, 2019). "Zach Thomas signs with VL Pesaro". Sportando. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  12. "Lega Basket, confermata la sospensione del campionato di Serie A" (in Italian). legabasket.it. 9 March 2020. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  13. "Zach Thomas torna negli USA" (in Italian). victorialibertas.it. 10 March 2020.
  14. "Budivelnyk signs Zach Thomas". Sportando.
  15. "Zach Thomas (ex Budivelnyk) is a newcomer at King". Eurobasket. January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  16. "LoKoKo Bisons sign Zach Thomas, ex King". Eurobasket. September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
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