Alyssa Thomas

Alyssa Thomas
No. 25 Connecticut Sun
Position Forward
League WNBA
Personal information
Born (1992-04-12) April 12, 1992
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Career information
High school Central Dauphin
(Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)
College Maryland (2010–2014)
WNBA draft 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall
Selected by the New York Liberty
Playing career 2014–present
Career history
2014–present Connecticut Sun
Career highlights and awards
  • 3× ACC Player of the Year (2012–2014)
Stats at WNBA.com

Alyssa Thomas (born April 12, 1992) is an American professional women's basketball forward with the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association. She is also the University of Maryland's all-time leader in scoring, rebounding and double-doubles for both the women's and men's programs, and one of only three athletes in NCAAW history with six career triple-doubles.[1] Thomas was drafted in 2014 by the New York Liberty[2] and, along with Kelsey Bone and a 2015 first-round draft pick, traded to Connecticut for Tina Charles.

Early years

Thomas attended Central Dauphin High School in Pennsylvania and became the school's all-time leading scorer. She was named to the 2010 Parade All-American First Team,[1] and was named a unanimous 2010 ESPN and USA Today All-American.[1] She was selected as the 2010 Pennsylvania AAAA State Player of the Year.[1]

Her brother, Devin Thomas, currently plays basketball for Wake Forest University. [3]

College career

In her freshman season, Thomas was named 2011 ACC Rookie of the Year and was selected to the All-ACC Second Team. She led her team in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game, as well as 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.[1]

Thomas came to national attention in her sophomore season (2011-2012). After leading the ACC in scoring at 17.2 points per game,[4] she was named the 2012 ACC Player of the Year and an AP, WBCA and USBWA First Team All-American. She led the Maryland Terrapins to the 2012 ACC Championship, scoring 29 points in the championship game against Georgia Tech and earning ACC Tournament MVP honors. The Terrapins went on to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, falling to Notre Dame in their final game of the 2011-2012 season.[1]

In her junior year, Thomas became the first person in NCAA or WNBA history to average over 18 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists for an entire season.[5] She won ACC Player of the Year for a second time and led the injury-addled Terrapins to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.[1]

Thomas capped her collegiate career by earning 2014 ACC Player of the Year for a third straight season, in addition to AP, WBCA and USBWA First-Team All America honours. She led a young Terrapins squad on a deep run through the NCAA Tournament, scoring a career-high 33 points against the Tennessee Lady Vols in the Sweet Sixteen en route to reaching the 2014 Final Four in Nashville. The Terrapins were defeated by Notre Dame in the Final Four match-up.[1] On June 27th, 2014, Thomas was named ACC Female Athlete of the Year.[6]

The University of Maryland honored Thomas's jersey in a ceremony on March 2nd, 2014.[7]

WNBA career

Thomas averaged 10.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in her first season with the Connecticut Sun.[8] She was named to the 2014 WNBA All-Rookie Team.[9]

Overseas career

In 2014-2015, Thomas played in South Korea for Bucheon KEB Hana Bank. She led the league in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.[10]
In 2015-2016, Thomas signed in Turkey for Yakın Doğu Üniversitesi.

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, November 14, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.