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Deon Thomas
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Personal information
Born (1971-02-24) February 24, 1971 (age 53)
Chicago, Illinois
Nationality American / Israeli
High school Simeon (Chicago, Illinois)
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 238 lb (108 kg)
Career information
College Illinois (1990–1994)
NBA Draft 1994 / Round: 2 / Pick: 28th overall
Selected by the Dallas Mavericks
Pro career 1994–2008
Career history
1994–1995 Bàsquet Manresa
1995–1996 Girona
1996–1997 Unicaja Málaga
1997–1998 Caja San Fernando
1998–1999 Maccabi Rishon LeZion
1999–2001 Gran Canaria
2001–2003 Cáceres
2003 Türk Telekom
2003–2005 Maccabi Tel Aviv
2005–2006 Gymnastikos S. Larissas
2006 CSKA Sofia
2006–2007 Maccabi Giv'at Shmuel
2007–2008 Maccabi Haifa
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× Euroleague champion (2004, 2005)
  • 3× Israeli League champion (2003, 2004, 2005)
  • 3× Israeli Cup champion (2003, 2004, 2005)
  • Andalucian Cup champion (1998)
  • Catalan League champion (1996)
  • McDonald's All-American (1989)
  • First-team Parade All-American (1989)
  • Illinois Mr. Basketball (1989)

Deon La velle Thomas (born February 24, 1971) is an American-Israeli former basketball player. As a high school player, he led his team to the Chicago Public League title, and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball. As a college player at the University of Illinois, he finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Fighting Illini history. Selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the 28th selection of the 1994 NBA draft, he opted to play professional basketball in Europe and Israel.

High school career

Thomas was a star basketball player at Chicago's Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School, graduating in 1989. As a junior in 1988, he led the Wolverines to the Chicago Public League title. As a senior, he was named Illinois Mr. Basketball and played in the McDonald's All-American Game, which also featured future NBA star Shaquille O'Neal.

College career

Thomas played college basketball at the University of Illinois. Thomas finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Fighting Illini history, with 2,129 career points scored and an 18.0 points per game scoring average. Thomas is the only men's basketball player in Illinois history to score at least 2,000 career points. Thomas was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004.

Professional career

Thomas was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the 28th selection of the 1994 NBA draft. Thomas attended mini camp but never played in the NBA, having opted to play professional basketball in Europe and Israel. Thomas played two years in Israel for Maccabi Tel Aviv, winning the Israeli championship, the Israeli cup, and the Euroleague championship twice. Thomas didn't play in the 2005 Final Four due to a broken leg. This injury forced him to leave Maccabi Tel Aviv. He then joined the Greek team Gymnastikos S. Larissas, the Bulgarian team CSKA Sofia, and then returned to Israel where he played for Givat Shmuel. He then played for Maccabi Haifa, also in Israel.

He is one of the most successful American pros of all time in the European leagues. Thomas has passed on several opportunities to play in the NBA. On 13 November 2006, in an interview for Bulgarian newspaper Tema Sport and Bulgarian television "Channel 3", Deon Thomas denied any wrongdoing and swore that he didn't receive anything from University of Illinois, as Bruce Pearl had claimed. He said the decision to play for Illinois was made by his grandmother.

Coaching/Announcing Career

In 2009, Thomas became the men's basketball head coach at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, Illinois. In April 2014, Thomas was named as an assistant basketball coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago. In 2016, he was hired by Fighting Illini Sports Network to call men's basketball games with Doug Altenberger.

Personal life

Thomas is now an Israeli citizen, and is married to an Israeli.

Honors

High school

  • 1988 - IHSA 1st Team All-State
  • 1988 - IHSA State Tournament All-Tournament Team
  • 1989 - IHSA 1st Team All-State
  • 1989 - Parade Magazine 1st Team All-American
  • 1989 - McDonald's All-American
  • 1989 - Illinois Mr. Basketball
  • 2015 - Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame as a player.

College

  • 1991 - 3rd Team All-Big Ten
  • 1992 - Illini Team Co-Captain
  • 1992 - Illini MVP
  • 1992 - 2nd Team All-Big Ten
  • 1993 - Illini Team Co-Captain
  • 1993 - Illini MVP
  • 1993 - 2nd Team All-Big Ten
  • 1994 - Illini Team Co-Captain
  • 1994 - Illini MVP
  • 1994 - 2nd Team All-Big Ten
  • 1994 - Honorable Mention All American
  • 2004 - Elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team".
  • 2008 - Honored as one of the thirty-three honored jerseys which hang in the State Farm Center to show regard for being the most decorated basketball players in the University of Illinois' history.
  • 2019 - Inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame

College statistics

University of Illinois

Season Games Points PPG Field Goals Attempts Avg Free Throws Attempts Avg Rebounds Avg Assists APG Blocks BPG Steals SPG
1990–91 30 452 15.1 172 298 .577 108 168 .643 203 6.8 18 0.6 54 1.8 10 0.3
1991–92 28 542 19.4 199 340 .585 144 218 .661 193 6.9 20 0.7 44 1.6 25 0.9
1992–93 32 587 18.3 225 371 .606 137 212 .646 256 8.0 37 1.2 42 1.3 17 0.5
1993–94 28 548 19.6 207 327 .633 133 192 .693 194 6.9 43 1.5 37 1.3 23 0.8
Totals 118 2,129* 18.0 803* 1336 .601 522 790* .661 846 7.2 118 1.0 177 1.5 75 0.6

* All-time leader in University of Illinois history

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Deon Thomas para niños

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