BILLY THOMAS
THOMAS, BILLY DUWAYNE
Hometown: Shreveport, LA (Loyola Prep
HS)
Born December 23, 1975
| CATEGORY | TOTAL | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | |
| YEAR | Fr. | So. | Jr. | Sr. | ||
| POSITION | G/F | G/F | G/F | G | ||
| HEIGHT | 6'4 | 6'4 | 6'4 | 6'4 | ||
| WEIGHT | 200 | 205 | 208 | 208 | ||
| JERSEY | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | ||
| Games Played/Started | 137/36 | 31/2 | 34/0 | 36/0 | 36/34 | |
| Minutes | 2365 | 472 | 358 | 573 | 962 | |
| Per Game | 17.3 | 15.2 | 10.5 | 15.9 | 26.7 | |
| Points | 1152 | 225 | 160 | 278 | 489 | |
| Per Game | 8.4 | 7.3 | 4.7 | 7.7 | 13.6 | |
| Rebounds | 290 | 67 | 51 | 64 | 108 | |
| Per Game | 2.1 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.0 | |
| Offensive | - | - | 22 | 32 | ||
| Defensive | - | - | 42 | 76 | ||
| Blocks | 16 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | |
| Assists | 169 | 20 | 21 | 27 | 101 | |
| Steals | 121 | 21 | 13 | 27 | 60 | |
| Turnovers | 129 | 24 | 20 | 37 | 48 | |
| (Assists+Steals)/TO | 2.25 | 1.71 | 1.70 | 1.46 | 3.35 | |
| FG: Attempts | 957 | 177 | 151 | 242 | 387 | |
| Made | 409 | 77 | 54 | 97 | 181 | |
| Percent | 42.7 | 43.5 | 35.8 | 40.1 | 46.8 | |
| 3FG: Attempts | 691 | 126 | 125 | 178 | 262 | |
| Made | 269 | 49 | 42 | 73 | 105 | |
| Percent | 38.9 | 38.9 | 33.6 | 41.0 | 40.1 | |
| FT: Attempts | 90 | 29 | 14 | 15 | 32 | |
| Made | 65 | 22 | 10 | 11 | 22 | |
| Percent | 72.2 | 75.9 | 71.4 | 73.3 | 68.8 | |
| Production Points/Game | 7.64 | 6.61 | 3.79 | 5.94 | 13.83 | |
| Production Points/Minute | .442 | .434 | .360 | .373 | .518 |
1995: Lettered. Big 8 All-Freshman team, US Olympic Festival.
1996: Lettered, Big 8 All-Bench team.
1997: Lettered, Big 12 All-Bench team (AP)
1998: Lettered, Captain, Honorable Mention All Big 12, Big 12 All-Improved team.
Billy Thomas is an alumnus of the KU Class of 1999 and former guard for the Jayhawks basketball team from 1995-’98. His professional playing career includes stints in the NBA, USBL, CBA and IBL basketball leagues. While at KU, Thomas was a fan favorite and set the school record for the most 3-point field goals in a conference game when he connected on eight shots from behind the arc against Texas in 1998.
From Wikipedia: Billy Thomas (born December 23, 1975 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is a professional basketball player of Olympia Larissa in greek championship and a former player in the NBA. He went undrafted after graduating from the University of Kansas in 1998 and began his NBA career during the 2004-2005 season with the New Jersey Nets. He appeared in seven games and averaged 4.1 ppg. Thomas has played in the USBL, CBA, IBL and in Europe during his professional basketball career. His ability, unselfishness, and fun-loving attitude have made him a fan favorite throughout his career. On March 3, 2006, he signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards.
Thomas' college career was an unlikely one. While scouting another player, University of Kansas head coach Roy Williams kept noticing Thomas making long jump shots. Thomas had not been a highly recruited player, but Williams saw something special in him and offered Thomas a scholarship. In his college career, Thoams set a KU record making 269 3-point field goals (that record was later broken by Jeff Boschee). He also holds the school record for 3-point field goals made in a conference game, connecting on eight of them in a game against Texas on January 10, 1998.
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PROFESSIONAL CAREER:
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/billy_thomas/index.html
http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/523746
http://www2.kusports.com/stats/nba_hawks/billy_thomas/
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Height: 193cm / 6'4'' Position: Shooting Guard / Small Forward Born: 1975 Team: Greenville,
USA (2001-03) Nationality: USA Agent: Price
Rhonda (Rhonda Price) |
College: Kansas
(B12) Previous teams: Tanduay (PHI) Kansas C. (USA-USBL) Cincinnati S. (USA-IBL) |
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6'5'' (195) |
G |
75 |
USA |
07 |
07 |
KUSports.com, 3/5/03
Thomas graduated from Kansas as the school's most prolific three-point shooter of all-time. His records were eventually broken by Jeff Boschee, but Thomas is still a fan-favorite. Since college, Billy has seen playing stints just about everywhere. Thomas has played professionally in the Philippines and Argentina. He also played in Salina with the Kansas Cagerz. This past summer, Thomas played with the New Jersey Nets in the Shaw's Pro Summer League but failed to make the regular season roster. Thomas is still close to capturing his NBA dream, as he is playing in the National Basketball Developmental League with the Greenville Groove in South Carolina. Thomas is the Groove's leading scorer, averaging 14.5 points per game. Most recently, Thomas scored 13 points to lead the Groove to a 73-70 win against Fayetteville on Saturday.
Cagers Retire Thomas' Jersey, Salina Journal, 5/20/02
Nets inspired by Thomas, Dave D'Alessandro - Newark Star-Ledger , 2/1/05
KUSports.com 6/18/03
Billy ball: Former KU guard Billy Thomas, who scored 49 points in a game last season for the Greenville (S.C.) Groove of the National Basketball Developmental League, will play for the Orlando Magic's summer-league team.
Thomas, 27, is hoping to gain an invitation to an NBA veteran camp next fall. It figures to be one of his last tries to make the NBA. The winner of the NBDL's Sportsman of the Year Award could be off to Europe if he's not picked up by an NBA squad. "Right now I'm going with Orlando. They talked to my agent some during the season about maybe bringing me up," Thomas said Tuesday from Self's camp. "A couple of other teams that wanted me to play are in the same league so they can take a look at me.
"The biggest thing," Thomas said, "is consistency and showing you can have more than one or two good shooting days under stress and duress." Thomas averaged 16 points a game last season.
"Billy Thomas is truly one of the greatest sportsmen I have ever been around," Greenville head coach Tree Rollins said. "He sacrificed his ego and statistics this year in order to allow his teammates to shine."
Thomas a free agent
Ex-Jayhawk Billy Thomas, who played half a season with the New Jersey Nets, is not under contract for next season. "They were pleased with my effort and relayed that to my agent," Thomas said. "Negotiations can't start until July 1. It could be them; there could be five or six other teams. It was a dream come true playing there."
Ex-Jayhawk Thomas headed to Greece, September 15, 2008
Billy Thomas giving NBA one final shot, 6/7/2009
