Leonard "L. J." Thorpe (born May 6, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). He played college basketball for the UNC Asheville Bulldogs.
| No. 2 – Juventus Utena | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | Lithuanian Basketball League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | May 6, 1999 Royal Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 216 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Royal Palm Beach (Royal Palm Beach, Florida) |
| College | UNC Asheville (2017–2022) |
| NBA draft | 2023: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2022–present |
| Career history | |
| 2022–2023 | Tampereen Pyrintö |
| 2023–2024 | BC Šiauliai |
| 2024 | Brampton Honey Badgers |
| 2024–present | Juventus Utena |
High school career
editThorpe graduated from Royal Palm Beach High School in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. In his junior year he averaged 13.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. As a senior he averaged 14.1 points, 7.2 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game. After both his junior and senior years, he was named conference player of the year and first team all-state.[1] Thorpe committed to UNC Asheville after graduating.[2]
College career
editThorpe played only one game before getting injured and redshirted during the 2017–18 season.[1] On 9 February 2019, he scored a then career-high 24 points against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.[3] On 18 January 2020, Thorpe scored a career-high 31 points against the Hampton Pirates, however Hampton's Ben Stanley outscored Thorpe by putting up 33 points and managed to lead Hampton to an 88–86 victory.[4]
On 10 February 2020, L.J. Thorpe became the second player in program history to record a triple-double (the first one being Kenny George). He led the team with 17 points, recorded a career-high 13 rebounds and career-high 10 assists as the Bulldogs fell 80–70 to the Hampton Pirates.[5]
Professional career
editTampereen Pyrintö (2022–2023)
editOn August 8, 2022, he signed with Tampereen Pyrintö of the Korisliiga in Finland.[6][7] During his stay with the team he averaged 12.7 points and 4.9 assists per game.[8][9]
BC Šiauliai (2023–2024)
editOn July 18, 2023, he signed with BC Šiauliai of the Lithuanian Basketball League.[9][10][11] On October 26, 2023, Thorpe scored 28 points and hit five three-pointers in a 104–93 win over Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys.[12]
Brampton Honey Badgers (2024)
editOn May 8, 2024, Thorpe signed with the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.[13]
Juventus Utena (2024–present)
editIn July, 2024, Thorpe signed with Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League.[14]
Career statistics
edit| 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 |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | UNC Asheville | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | .500 | .000 | .750 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 |
| 2018–19 | UNC Asheville | 16 | 6 | 23.9 | .385 | .268 | .679 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 8.6 |
| 2019–20 | UNC Asheville | 31 | 31 | 28.6 | .486 | .404 | .686 | 6.4 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 13.9 |
| 2020–21 | UNC Asheville | 20 | 16 | 25.1 | .500 | .405 | .714 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 11.6 |
| 2021–22 | UNC Asheville | 32 | 27 | 24.2 | .494 | .400 | .739 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 14.1 |
| Career | 100 | 80 | 25.5 | .479 | .366 | .708 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 12.5 | |
References
edit- ^ a b "LJ Thorpe - Men's Basketball". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ "McDevitt Announces Addition of Thorpe to 2017-18 Men's Basketball Roster". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ "Charleston Southern 85-75 UNC Asheville (9 Feb, 2019) Game Recap - ESPN (UK)". ESPN. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ "Stanley lifts Hampton over UNC Asheville 88-86". The Seattle Times. 2020-01-18. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ "Career Night from Thorpe Not Enough as Bulldogs Fall to Pirates on the Road". UNC Asheville Athletics. 2020-02-10. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ "LJ Thorpe signs a professional contract to play in Finland". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ "LJ Thorpe Pyrintöön". Pyrintö (in Finnish). 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ "L.J. Thorpe". www.basket.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ a b ""Šiauliuose" Sabeckį keičia amerikietis". basketnews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ ""Šiaulių" ekipą papildė gynėjas iš JAV". krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ "LJ Thorpe Inks Contract with BC Šiauliai". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ "Galingas "Šiaulių" puolimas nepaliko vilčių "Pieno žvaigždėms"". basketnews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ Warrener, Kyle (May 8, 2024). "HONEY BADGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH GUARD THORPE". HoneyBadgers.ca. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ "Buvęs "Šiaulių" lyderis L.J. Thorpe keliasi į Uteną". UtenosJuventus.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved August 10, 2024.