The Wollongong Hawks’ 2001 NBL Championship: The defining moment of an underdog’s rise
March 15, 2025
Charles Thomas
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 3/10/70
- Place of Birth: Dayton, Ohio (USA)
- Position: PG
- Height (CM): 194
- Weight (KG): 100
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Eastern Michigan
- NBL DEBUT: 20/10/00
- AGE AT DEBUT: 30
- LAST NBL GAME: 5/03/04
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 33
- NBL History: Wollongong 2001-02 | Adelaide 2003/04
- Championships: 1
- Wollongong (2001)
BIO: Charles Thomas was born in Dayton, Ohio (USA).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Charles Thomas made his NBL debut with the Wollongong Hawks at 30 years of age. He scored 18 points in his first game.
Prior to the start of the 2000/01 season, coach Brendan Joyce changed almost half his roster, adding Charles Thomas, Damon Lowery, Grant Kruger, Matt Shanahan and Axel Dench. In his debut NBL season Thomas would average 16.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assist, complementing stars Glen Saville and Melvin Thomas at forward.
After finishing the regular season in fourth with a club-best 21 wins from 28 games, Wollongong upset Perth in game one of the qualifying finals behind a 22 point, 13 rebound effort from Melvin Thomas, a 19 point effort from Damon Lowery and 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists from Charles Thomas to win at home 97–90
The Hawks fell short in game two in Perth, 95–106 despite Thomas having one of his best games of the season, notching up 25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. This set up a Game 3, held in Perth, where the Hawks won a major upset thanks to a 26 point, 16 rebound performance from Glen Saville, a 20 point game from Lowery and 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists from Thomas to win 98–88.
This set up a semi-final matchup with the Adelaide 36ers and their stars Darnell Mee and Kevin Brooks. Thomas delivered a 17 points, 6 rebounds, and was instrumental on defence as the Hawks squeaked out a narrow 84-83 game win over the 36ers. The Hawks would return to Wollongong but lose Game 2, 100–111 Thomas added 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists and then in the deciding game the Hawks won game three in a nail biter at Wollongong’s WIN Entertainment Centre when Damon Lowery sunk three free throws with no time on the clock, propelling the team into the 2001 NBL Grand Final to face the Townsville Crocodiles. Thomas, who struggled with foul trouble during the deciding game, added 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Hawks went on to face the Townsville Crocodiles in the 2001 NBL Grand Final, winning game one at home 104-101 with Thomas bouncing back to regular form and contributing 17 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal. The series would shift to Townsville for games two and three and the Crocodiles rebounded at home winning the second game 114–97 despite Thomas stepping up his game again, this time finishing with 20 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. game three was a gruelling matchup, played the very next day where the blue-collar Hawks snuck out the three-point victory 97-94, Charles Thomas top scoring with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Glen Saville would add 18 points and 12 rebounds to claim the NBL Finals MVP and the Hawks 2–1 victory saw them become the first New South Wales club to win a NBL championship.
Charles Thomas played four seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Wollongong Hawks and the Adelaide 36ers. He averaged 16.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5 assists in 136 NBL games.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | 33 | Adelaide | 14-19 (8) | 34 | 1,295.0 | 520 | 156 | 202 | 38 | 118 | 55 | 17 | 93 | 97 | 187 | 459 | 41% | 95 | 266 | 36% | 51 | 66 | 77% | 53% | 51% | 36 |
| 2002-03 | 32 | Adelaide | 16-14 (5) | 33 | 1,242.0 | 601 | 175 | 195 | 36 | 139 | 68 | 19 | 97 | 84 | 193 | 470 | 41% | 92 | 250 | 37% | 123 | 156 | 79% | 55% | 51% | 30 |
| 2001-02 | 31 | Wollongong | 16-14 (4) | 32 | 1,210.0 | 477 | 131 | 144 | 31 | 100 | 60 | 6 | 81 | 91 | 167 | 397 | 42% | 78 | 232 | 34% | 65 | 85 | 76% | 55% | 52% | 38 |
| 2000-01 | 30 | Wollongong | 21-7 (4) | 37 | 1,461.0 | 609 | 177 | 151 | 42 | 135 | 58 | 10 | 118 | 113 | 221 | 488 | 45% | 102 | 259 | 39% | 65 | 79 | 82% | 58% | 56% | 30 | Totals | 136 | 5208 | 2207 | 639 | 692 | 147 | 492 | 241 | 52 | 389 | 385 | 768 | 1814 | 42.3% | 367 | 1007 | 36.4% | 304 | 386 | 78.8% | 56% | 52% | 38 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | 33 | Adelaide | 14-19 (8) | 34 | 38.1 | 15.3 | 4.6 | 5.9 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 5.5 | 13.5 | 41% | 2.8 | 7.8 | 36% | 1.5 | 1.9 | 77% | 53% | 51% | 36 |
| 2002-03 | 32 | Adelaide | 16-14 (5) | 33 | 37.6 | 18.2 | 5.3 | 5.9 | 1.1 | 4.2 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 5.8 | 14.2 | 41% | 2.8 | 7.6 | 37% | 3.7 | 4.7 | 79% | 55% | 51% | 30 |
| 2001-02 | 31 | Wollongong | 16-14 (4) | 32 | 37.8 | 14.9 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 5.2 | 12.4 | 42% | 2.4 | 7.3 | 34% | 2.0 | 2.7 | 76% | 55% | 52% | 38 |
| 2000-01 | 30 | Wollongong | 21-7 (4) | 37 | 39.5 | 16.5 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 6.0 | 13.2 | 45% | 2.8 | 7.0 | 39% | 1.8 | 2.1 | 82% | 58% | 56% | 30 | Total | 136 | 38.3 | 16.2 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 5.6 | 13.3 | 42.3% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36.4% | 2.7 | 7.4 | 78.8% | 56% | 52% | 38 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 38 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 0 |
|---|
NBA EXPERIENCE
Thomas played 36 games in the NBA. He averaged 1.3 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game over his NBA career.
NBA TRANSACTIONS:
- July 18, 1991: Signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons.
| Season | Team | PTS | AST | STL | BLK | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 86% | 97% | 96% | 77% | ||||||
| 2 | 0 | 38 | 14 | 6 | 3 | ||||||
| Total | 768 | 1814 | 42.3% | 367 | 1007 | 36.4% |
NBA TOTAL STATISTICS
| YEAR | AGE | TEAM | POS | GP | GS | MINS | PTS | TRB | AST | ORB | DRB | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | 22 | Detroit | SG | 36 | 0 | 156 | 48 | 22 | 22 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 51 | 35% | 2 | 17 | 12% | 10 | 15 | 67% | 42% | 37% | Total | 36 | 0 | 156 | 48 | 22 | 22 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 51 | 35% | 2 | 17 | 12% | 10 | 15 | 67% |
NBA PER GAME STATISTICS
| YEAR | AGE | TEAM | POS | GP | GS | MINS | PTS | TRB | AST | ORB | DRB | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | 22 | Detroit | SG | 36 | 0 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 35% | 0.1 | 0.5 | 12% | 0.3 | 0.4 | 67% | 42% | 37% | Total | 36 | 0 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 35% | 0.1 | 0.5 | 12% | 0.3 | 0.4 | 67% |
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Cyprus - ? | Finland - ?
Related
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