# Deon Thomas is out of the final4!!!



## sKiP~2~mY~BLUTH (Aug 11, 2004)

maccabi's 6th man is out for the season!
durin practice 2day he broke his leg...
the players said it looked very very bad...


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Maccabi forward Deon Thomas injured severely
Deon Thomas
Thomas broke leg
Veteran forward Deon Thomas, a key backup big man for Maccabi Tel Aviv, the defending Euroleague champion, will miss the 2005 Final Four due to an injury he suffered in practice on Wednesday. Thomas (204, 34) broke his leg so severely in practice that he was to undergo an operation later Wednesday night. Not only was his participation in the Final Four ruled out, but his career was thought in danger due to the injury. Maccabi head coach Pini Gershon ended the practice right away and all the players gathered inside the locker room, most of them with tears in their eyes. Gershon, too, was shocked. "I have never seen anything like this," Gershon said before accompanying Thomas to the hospital.

Thomas averaged 7 points and 2.9 rebouds in 15.5 minutes over 21 games this season, but was particularly important when starting center Nikola Vujcic missed three games during the regular season due to injury. Over six games in December and January, Thomas scored in double digits four times, including a season-high of 15 points against Union Olimpija. Thomas raised his production slightly as Maccabi went undefeated in the Top 16, posting a season-high 8 rebounds to go with 13 points in the victory over Ulker that put Maccabi in the Quarterfinal Playoffs.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

I remember him after the flying illini days. He was pretty good for Illinois but the claim to fame/infamy was his conversations that was taped by Bruce Pearl (then an assistant at Iowa), alledging that Jimmy Collins, coach of UIC now, offered him 80,000 and a car to come to the school.

just a tidbit.


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## Midnight_Marauder (Dec 1, 2003)

So that is where Deion Thomas went to.....I thought he would be a solid bench player in the NBA...guess it didnt work out


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## allenive21 (Jul 28, 2002)

Midnight_Marauder said:


> So that is where Deion Thomas went to.....I thought he would be a solid bench player in the NBA...guess it didnt work out


So did I as he put up very solid numbers at Illinois and I believe he is Illinois's all-time leading scorer. He just seemed to bolt straight to Europe and I assume he's content with it as he is past an age where he could possibly go to the league. Hopefully, he can have rebound from this injury and continue to show his Illini skills over there!


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