Cleveland Joseph "Pancake" Thomas Jr. (born December 2, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who plays for REG of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
![]() Thomas in the bottom with Western Kentucky. | |
Al-Ahli Benghazi | |
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Position | Shooting guard |
Personal information | |
Born | (1993-12-02) December 2, 1993 (age 28) Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
Nationality | American |
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 |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
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]
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]
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.
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]
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 |