BIO: TaShawn Thomas was born in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) and attended Killeen High School (Killeen, Texas).

NBL EXPERIENCE

TaShawn Thomas made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 29 years of age. He scored 10 points in his first game.

After missing the playoffs for the first time in 35 years under Canadian coach, Scott Morrison announced he was leaving after just one season so he could return home for family reasons. In his place, the Wildcat’s appointed former Townsville Crocodiles star John Rillie as the club’s new head coach on a three-year deal.

Perth retained the majority of its roster, with only Kevin White (to Illawarra) and Matt Hodgson (to Taiwan) not returning. Perth re-signed Bryce Cotton (3 Year Deal), Todd Blanchfield (3 Year Deal) and Jesse Wagstaff (1 Year Deal) and elevated backup guard Kyle Zunic from development player to the full roster. Corey Webster, who the Wildcats had signed to a deal in 2017 only to see him leave before the season started, signed as a free agent. To round out the roster, imports Brady Manek (North Carolina) and Thomas (France) were added for some additional scoring punch. Upon being signed by the Wildcat’s head coach John Rillie had the following words to describe the team’s new import.

“One thing that impressed me is TaShawn played for a coach in Israel who demanded effort at the defensive end, and he was rewarded with Defensive Player of the Year. So, as well as the dunks and blocks, I think the Red Army will buy into the intensity he’ll bring at the defensive end.”

“I value players who can pass the ball, because if we’re going to play a good style on offense, we need guys who can share, but also put the ball in the hole,” Rillie said.

Rillie’s squad began the season nicely, notching up three wins in a row and looking like the Wildcats of old as they sat on top of the NBL ladder. This was then met with a five game losing streak and drop to seventh place, where they hung around until the final month of the season.

During that time Thomas delivered a number of big games. In Mitch Norton’s 300th game, Thomas and the Wildcat’s claimed a 98-90 victory over Adelaide. The entertaining battle, which coincidentally was 36ers big man Daniel Johnson’s 400th game also, saw many swings and lead changes, but it was the clutch shot making by Wildcats star Cotton in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory. Cotton (32 points) led all scorers with 32 points but the Wildcat’s did not rely solely on Cotton alone, with TaShawn Thomas putting up a season high 22 points and Corey Webster recording 22 points as well.

Thomas was instrumental in Wildcats win over the Taipans (105-83) which extended the team’s longest winning streak of the season to four straight.

The Wildcats came out aggressive on both ends, forcing the Taipans into 10 turnovers to build a 15-point halftime advantage. TaShawn Thomas was tasked with holding Cairns’ MVP candidate, Keanu Pinder, to just 4 points in the opening half, while Thomas provided 16 points and 8 rebounds of his own. In arguably his best game of the season, Thomas finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds (7 offensive) and 6 assists. Cotton led the team in scoring with 24 points and youngster Michael Harris added a career high 17 points for Perth. DJ Hogg was the best for Cairns with 24 points.

Thomas also played a key part in Perth reaching the playoffs, stepping up in a vital win over the New Zealand Breakers (93-90) that propelled the team from seventh to fifth and into the playoff picture in January. The big man battle between Dererk Pardon and Thomas stole the show. Pardon led all scorers with 28 points while also pulling down a game high 12 rebounds, and Thomas led the Wildcats’ scoring with 23 points and amassed 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

With six games remaining in the regular season Perth added Tai Webster to their roster after he was released from his team in Turkey, reuniting him with his brother Corey. Following the signing of Webster, Corey Shervill was released from the Wildcat’s 11-man roster.

The team’s final three games saw them lose to Tasmania (102–94) after allowing the JackJumpers to outscore them 27-15 across the final 10 minutes. A crucial loss to Cairns Taipans (84-71) set up a nail-biting last round where another Perth loss would see United finish sixth and the Wildcat’s eliminated from Finals or a Perth win allowing them to advance to the postseason.

While the Kings were able to lock down Cotton (7 points), Perth got big games out of Corey Webster (26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists), Luke Travers (22 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists) and Brady Manek (21 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals) to deliver a upset victory (96-84) against the league leading Kings.

The win saw Perth (15-13) claim sixth place on the ladder and advance into the league’s inaugural play-in tournament. There, they would face South East Melbourne in a game where they trailed the entire game until the fourth quarter. During the final term, the Wildcat’s outscored the Phoenix (41-23) and moved on the second round of the play-in tournament, on the back of a seven-point win (106-99). Perth then met Cairns in a game where the winner would advance to the semi finals as the fourth seed.

Although Cairns entered the game without their leading scorer and rebounder Keanu Pinder, a history making effort from DJ Hogg (32 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists) delivered the end to the Wildcats’ season. Hogg would record the most points ever by a Taipan in the playoffs, defeating the Wildcats (78-91) in the process.

Thomas played in 28 games for the Wildcats and averaged 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, leading the team in rebounds.

TaShawn Thomas played one season in the NBL. He averaged 13.1 points, 6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 28 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (815 Posts)

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.