Cleveland Thomas
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 Thomas in the bottom with Western Kentucky. | |
| No. 5 – REG | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard |
| League | Rwanda Basketball League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | December 2, 1993 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Scotlandville Magnet (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2017: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2017–present |
| Career history | |
| 2017–2019 | Zlatorog Laško |
| 2019–2021 | KTE-Duna Aszfalt |
| 2021–2022 | Apollon Patras |
| 2022 | REG |
| 2022 | Al-Ahli Benghazi |
| 2022–2023 | Beirut Club |
| 2023 | REG |
| 2023 | Dorados de Chihuahua |
| 2023 | Pazi |
| 2024 | Al-Naft |
| 2024 | Al Wahda |
| 2024 | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón |
| 2024–present | REG |
| 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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]| 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
[edit]Club
[edit]- REG
- Zlatorog Laško
Individual
[edit]- RBL All-Star: (2022)
- Second-team All-America East: (2016)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Bishop, Chad (January 24, 2017). "More to WKU's Pancake Thomas than a nickname". WBKO. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ Conner, Desmond (August 16, 2016). "UHart's 'Pancake' Thomas Leaving Team". Hartford Courant. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ "AS Apollon Patras land Cleveland Thomas, ex KTE-Duna". Eurobasket.com. September 6, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
- ^ Mammides, Chris; Obradovic, Igor (February 4, 2022). "Thomas left AS Apollon Patras". Eurobasket. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
- ^ "Rwanda Energy Group BBC (RWANDA)". The BAL. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- ^ "BAL debutant REG upset former African champions AS Salé". The BAL. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- ^ "Cleveland Joseph THOMAS JR at the WASL - West Asia League 2023". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (February 15, 2023). "Cleveland rejoins REG ahead of BAL 2023". The New Times. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (August 9, 2023). "Cleveland Thomas joins Mexican side Dorados de Chihuahua". The New Times. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- ^ "Tanzanian champions Pazi steps into the unknown in the Joburg Elite 16". FIBA. November 19, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2024.