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Cleveland Thomas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cleveland Thomas
Thomas in the bottom with Western Kentucky.
No. 5 – REG
PositionShooting guard
LeagueRwanda Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1993-12-02) December 2, 1993 (age 31)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolScotlandville Magnet
(Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
College
NBA draft2017: undrafted
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2019Zlatorog Laško
2019–2021KTE-Duna Aszfalt
2021–2022Apollon Patras
2022REG
2022Al-Ahli Benghazi
2022–2023Beirut Club
2023REG
2023Dorados de Chihuahua
2023Pazi
2024Al-Naft
2024Al Wahda
2024Halcones de Ciudad Obregón
2024–presentREG
Career highlights and awards

Cleveland Joseph "Pancake" Thomas Jr. (born December 2, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the REG of the Rwanda Basketball League.

High school career

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Thomas attended Scotlandville Magnet High School. As a senior, he averaged 18 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists per game, earning Class 5A All-State honors. Thomas posted 21 points and 11 rebounds in a 82-48 victory over McKinley High School in the state title game.[1]

College career

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Thomas began his college basketball career with New Mexico, helping the Lobos reach the NCAA Tournament as a freshman. He averaged 3.9 points per game as a sophomore and saw his minutes dwindle as the season progressed. Thomas opted to transfer following the season, but tore his ACL three days later. He opted to come to Hartford, one of the few schools to show interest despite the injury.[1] As a junior, he averaged 19 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and had four 30-point performances.[2] Thomas transferred to Western Kentucky for his redshirt senior season.[1]

Professional career

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Thomas played for KTE-Duna Aszfalt during the 2020-21 season and averaged 14.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. On September 6, 2021, Thomas signed with Apollon Patras of the Greek Basket League.[3] He averaged 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. On February 4, 2022, Thomas parted ways with the team.[4]

In March 2022, Thomas was added to the roster of Rwandan club REG for the 2022 BAL season, the second season of the Basketball Africa League.[5] On March 6, he scored a game-high 26 points in his league debut to help REG win the first game over AS Salé.[6] He also went on to win the Rwanda Basketball League championship in 2022.

In October 2022, Thomas played for Al-Ahli Benghazi in the 2022 Arab Club Basketball Championship. He later joined Beirut Club of the Lebanese Basketball League (LBL) and West Asia Super League (WASL).[7]

On February 15, 2023, Thomas re-joined REG.[8] He played in the 2023 BAL season with REG.

In July 2023, he joined Mexican side Dorados de Chihuahua.[9]

In November 2023, Thomas joined Pazi BBC in Tanzania.[10]

Personal life

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Thomas gained the nickname "Pancake" from his grandmother, who remarked that his mother's stomach was flat as a pancake during her pregnancy with him. He is a pescatarian and is an advocate for depression awareness [1]

BAL career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022 REG 6 6 35.2 .419 .375 .813 5.3 4.8 1.5 0.3 20.3

Awards and accomplishments

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Club

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REG
Zlatorog Laško

Individual

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Bishop, Chad (January 24, 2017). "More to WKU's Pancake Thomas than a nickname". WBKO. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  2. ^ Conner, Desmond (August 16, 2016). "UHart's 'Pancake' Thomas Leaving Team". Hartford Courant. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "AS Apollon Patras land Cleveland Thomas, ex KTE-Duna". Eurobasket.com. September 6, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  4. ^ Mammides, Chris; Obradovic, Igor (February 4, 2022). "Thomas left AS Apollon Patras". Eurobasket. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  5. ^ "Rwanda Energy Group BBC (RWANDA)". The BAL. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  6. ^ "BAL debutant REG upset former African champions AS Salé". The BAL. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  7. ^ "Cleveland Joseph THOMAS JR at the WASL - West Asia League 2023". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  8. ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (February 15, 2023). "Cleveland rejoins REG ahead of BAL 2023". The New Times. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  9. ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (August 9, 2023). "Cleveland Thomas joins Mexican side Dorados de Chihuahua". The New Times. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  10. ^ "Tanzanian champions Pazi steps into the unknown in the Joburg Elite 16". FIBA. November 19, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
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