L.J. Thorpe
{{Short description|American basketball player}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = L. J. Thorpe
| image =
| caption =
| position = Point guard
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 5
| weight_lbs = 216
| league = Lithuanian Basketball League
| team = Juventus Utena
| number = 2
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1999|5|6}}
| birth_place = Royal Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
| high_school = Royal Palm Beach
(Royal Palm Beach, Florida)
| college = UNC Asheville (2017–2022)
| draft_year = 2023
| career_start = 2022
| years1 = 2022–2023
| team1 = Tampereen Pyrintö
| years2 = 2023–2024
| team2 = BC Šiauliai
| years3 = 2024
| team3 = Brampton Honey Badgers
| years4 = 2024–present
| team4 = Juventus Utena
| highlights =
}}
Leonard "L. J." Thorpe (born May 6, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). He played college basketball for the UNC Asheville Bulldogs.
High school career
Thorpe graduated from Royal Palm Beach High School in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. In his junior year he averaged 13.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. As a senior he averaged 14.1 points, 7.2 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game. After both his junior and senior years, he was named conference player of the year and first team all-state.{{Cite web |title=LJ Thorpe - Men's Basketball |url=https://uncabulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/lj-thorpe/3185 |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=UNC Asheville Athletics |language=en}} Thorpe committed to UNC Asheville after graduating.{{Cite web |title=McDevitt Announces Addition of Thorpe to 2017-18 Men's Basketball Roster |url=https://uncabulldogs.com/news/2017/8/12/mcdevitt-announces-addition-of-thorpe-to-2017-18-mens-basketball-roster.aspx |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=UNC Asheville Athletics |language=en}}
College career
Thorpe played only one game before getting injured and redshirted during the 2017–18 season. On 9 February 2019, he scored a then career-high 24 points against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.{{Cite web |title=Charleston Southern 85-75 UNC Asheville (9 Feb, 2019) Game Recap - ESPN (UK) |url=https://www.espn.co.uk/mens-college-basketball/recap/_/gameId/401088331 |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=ESPN |language=en}} On 18 January 2020, Thorpe scored a career-high 31 points against the Hampton Pirates, however Hampton's Ben Stanley outscored Thorpe by putting up 33 points and managed to lead Hampton to an 88–86 victory.{{Cite web |date=2020-01-18 |title=Stanley lifts Hampton over UNC Asheville 88-86 |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/stanley-lifts-hampton-over-unc-asheville-88-86/ |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}
On 10 February 2020, L.J. Thorpe became the second player in program history to record a triple-double (the first one being Kenny George). He led the team with 17 points, recorded a career-high 13 rebounds and career-high 10 assists as the Bulldogs fell 80–70 to the Hampton Pirates.{{Cite web |date=2020-02-10 |title=Career Night from Thorpe Not Enough as Bulldogs Fall to Pirates on the Road |url=https://uncabulldogs.com/news/2020/2/10/mens-basketball-career-night-from-thorpe-not-enough-as-bulldogs-fall-to-pirates-on-the-road.aspx |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=UNC Asheville Athletics |language=en}}
Professional career
= Tampereen Pyrintö (2022–2023) =
On August 8, 2022, he signed with Tampereen Pyrintö of the Korisliiga in Finland.{{Cite web |title=LJ Thorpe signs a professional contract to play in Finland |url=https://uncabulldogs.com/news/2022/8/12/mens-basketball-lj-thorpe-signs-a-professional-contract-to-play-in-finland |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=UNC Asheville Athletics |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-08-12 |title=LJ Thorpe Pyrintöön |url=https://pyrinto.fi/uutinen/lj-thorpe-pyrintoon/ |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=Pyrintö |language=fi}} During his stay with the team he averaged 12.7 points and 4.9 assists per game.{{Cite web |title=L.J. Thorpe |url=https://www.basket.fi/pelaaja/?id=6621423 |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=www.basket.fi |language=fi}}{{Cite web |title="Šiauliuose" Sabeckį keičia amerikietis |url=https://www.basketnews.lt/news-192215-siauliuose-sabecki-keicia-amerikietis.html |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=basketnews.lt |language=lt}}
=BC Šiauliai (2023–2024)=
On July 18, 2023, he signed with BC Šiauliai of the Lithuanian Basketball League.{{Cite web |title="Šiaulių" ekipą papildė gynėjas iš JAV |url=https://www.krepsinis.net/naujiena/siauliu-ekipa-papilde-gynejas-is-jav/328909 |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=krepsinis.net |language=lt}}{{Cite web |title=LJ Thorpe Inks Contract with BC Šiauliai |url=https://uncabulldogs.com/news/2023/7/26/mens-basketball-lj-thorpe-inks-contract-with-bc-iauliai.aspx |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=UNC Asheville Athletics |language=en}} On October 26, 2023, Thorpe scored 28 points and hit five three-pointers in a 104–93 win over Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys.{{Cite web |title=Galingas "Šiaulių" puolimas nepaliko vilčių "Pieno žvaigždėms" |url=https://www.basketnews.lt/news-196458-galingas-siauliu-puolimas-nepaliko-vilciu-pieno-zvaigzdems.html |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=basketnews.lt |language=lt}}
=Brampton Honey Badgers (2024)=
On May 8, 2024, Thorpe signed with the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.{{cite web|first=Kyle|last=Warrener|title=HONEY BADGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH GUARD THORPE|url=https://www.honeybadgers.ca/honey-badgers-agree-to-terms-with-guard-thorpe|website=HoneyBadgers.ca|date=May 8, 2024|access-date=August 10, 2024}}
=Juventus Utena (2024–present)=
In July, 2024, Thorpe signed with Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League.{{cite web|title=Buvęs "Šiaulių" lyderis L.J. Thorpe keliasi į Uteną|url=https://utenosjuventus.lt/2024/07/16/buves-siauliu-lyderis-l-j-thorpe-keliasi-i-utena/|website=UtenosJuventus.lt|access-date=August 10, 2024|language=Lithuanian}}
Career statistics
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
=College=
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18
| style="text-align:left;"| UNC Asheville
| 1 || 0 || 6.0 || .500 || .000 || .750 || 1.0 || 2.0 || 4.0 || 0.0 || 5.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19
| style="text-align:left;"| UNC Asheville
| 16 || 6 || 23.9 || .385 || .268 || .679 || 3.5 || 2.5 || 2.5 || 0.1 || 8.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20
| style="text-align:left;"| UNC Asheville
| 31 || 31 || 28.6 || .486 || .404 || .686 || 6.4 || 2.3 || 1.4 || 0.2 || 13.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21
| style="text-align:left;"| UNC Asheville
| 20 || 16 || 25.1 || .500 || .405 || .714 || 4.1 || 3.0 || 0.7 || 0.2 || 11.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22
| style="text-align:left;"| UNC Asheville
| 32 || 27 || 24.2 || .494 || .400 || .739 || 3.8 || 3.7 || 0.9 || 0.2 || 14.1
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 100 || 80 || 25.5 || .479 || .366 || .708 || 4.6 || 2.9 || 1.0 || 0.2 || 12.5
{{S-end}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://uncabulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/lj-thorpe/3185 UNC Asheville Bulldogs bio]
- [https://lkl.lt/zaidejai/leonard-thorpe Lithuanian Basketball League bio]
{{BC Juventus current roster}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, L.J.}}
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Finland
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from Florida
Category:Brampton Honey Badgers players