Liam Thomas
{{Short description|Australian basketball player (born 1994)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Liam Thomas
| image =
| caption =
| number =
| position = Power forward
| height_ft = 7
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 200
| league =
| team =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|7|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = Kogarah, New South Wales
| nationality = Australian
| high_school = Central Private
(Central, Louisiana)
| college = Nicholls (2013–2017)
| draft_year = 2017
| career_start = 2017
| career_end = 2020
| years1 = 2017
| team1 = AV Ohrid
| years2 = 2019
| team2 = Diamond Valley Eagles
| years3 = 2019–2020
| team3 = Sutherland Sharks
| highlights =
- NCAA blocks leader (2017)
- Third-team All-Southland (2017)
- Southland Defensive Player of the Year (2017)
- 2× Southland All-Defensive Team (2016, 2017)
| medaltemplates =
}}
Liam Robert Thomas (born 20 July 1994) is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Nicholls State.
Early life
Thomas played basketball for Central Private School in Central, Louisiana. As a senior, he averaged 14.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 9.1 blocks per game. Thomas recorded 10 points, eight rebounds and eight blocks to lead his team to its first ever Mississippi Association of Independent Schools title.{{cite web |title=Three sign with Nicholls |url=https://www.houmatoday.com/sports/20130501/three-sign-with-nicholls |website=The Houma Courier |accessdate=13 August 2020 |date=1 May 2013}}
College career
Thomas was a four-year college basketball starter at Nicholls State. His coach J. P. Piper wanted to redshirt him for his first year, but Thomas did not agree with the idea.{{cite web |last1=Renois |first1=Teddy |title=Thomas starting to make a impact for Colonels |url=https://www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20140109/Sports/608073281/HC/ |website=The Houma Courier |accessdate=13 August 2020 |date=9 January 2014}}{{Failed verification|date=September 2023}} Thomas posted 8.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game as a junior.{{cite web |last1=Arsenis |first1=Damian |title=NCAA Men: 2016 All-Australian Awards |url=https://pickandroll.com.au/ncaa-men-2016-australian-awards/ |website=Pickandroll.com.au |accessdate=August 13, 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719105720/https://pickandroll.com.au/ncaa-men-2016-australian-awards/ |archivedate=July 19, 2019 |date=April 15, 2016}} As a junior, Thomas blocked 85 shots, a single-season school record, and became his program's all-time leader in blocks. In his senior season, he led the NCAA Division I with 4.19 blocks per game and 130 blocks, while averaging 7.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Thomas was named Southland Defensive Player of the Year and Third Team All-Southland. He left with the third-most blocks in Southland history.{{cite web |title=Thomas named Southland's top defender |url=https://www.houmatoday.com/sports/20170306/thomas-named-southlands-top-defender?template=ampart |website=The Houma Courier |accessdate=13 August 2020 |date=6 March 2017}}
Professional career
After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, Thomas signed with AV Ohrid of the Macedonian First League and ABA League Second Division. On 28 November 2017, he was released by the club.{{cite web |title=Changes in Ohrid: Donakoski replaced Thomas |url=https://www.aba-liga.com/news/39248/changes-in-ohrid-donakoski-replaced-thomas/ |publisher=ABA League |accessdate=13 August 2020 |date=28 November 2017}} In the 2018–19 season, Thomas joined the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League as a development player.{{cite web |last1=McQuade |first1=Matt |title=Kings Announce Development Squad |url=https://www.sydneykings.com/news/article/kings-announce-development-squad |publisher=Sydney Kings |accessdate=13 August 2020 |date=19 September 2018}} He signed with the Diamond Valley Eagles of the semi-professional NBL1 on 22 February 2019.{{cite web |title=NBL1 Eagles Signs Liam Thomas for 2019 |url=https://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-3441-0-0-0&sID=248632&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=64654448 |publisher=Diamond Valley Basketball Association |accessdate=13 August 2020 |date=22 February 2019}} For his next season, Thomas played for the Sutherland Sharks of the semi-professional Waratah League.{{cite web |title=Liam Thomas |url=https://www.eurobasket.com/player/Liam-Thomas/USA/Nicholls-State-University/302287 |publisher=Eurobasket.com |accessdate=13 August 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://geauxcolonels.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/liam-thomas/3144 Nicholls State Colonels bio]
{{NCAA Division I men's basketball blocks champion}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Liam}}
Category:Australian men's basketball players
Category:Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States
Category:Basketball players from Sydney
Category:Nicholls Colonels men's basketball players