Courtesy of BucknellBison.com
LEWISBURG, Pa. — For the second straight day, a prominent member of the Bucknell men’s basketball team’s Class of 2018 has signed a professional contract. On Friday, Okapi Aalstar of the top flight in Belgium announced the signing of former Bison forward Zach Thomas. The 2018 Patriot League Player of the Year and an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American, Thomas joins classmate Nana Foulland in the pro ranks. Foulland signed with Ironi Nahariya in Israel on Thursday.
Okapi Aalstar plays in the town of Aalst, Belgium, located about midway between Brussels and Ghent. The current Bison team will be in Ghent next month as part of its European tour of the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Okapi Aalstar went 23-13 last season and finished fourth in the 10-team Euromillions League.
Thomas, a biomedical engineering major at Bucknell, led the Patriot League in both scoring (20.5) and rebounding (9.1) in 2017-18 while leading the Bison to another Patriot League championship. He broke school single-season records for points (716), free throws made (241), free throws attempted (310), 20-point games (18) and 30-point games (4). Thomas scored 27 points against Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament in March. He finished his career with 1,738 points, fifth-most in Bucknell history. His 796 rebounds rank 10th all-time.
Thomas participated in the Reese’s College All-Star Game in San Antonio during Final Four Weekend, and he earned Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America honors while also earning a spot on the CollegeInsider.com Lou Henson All-America Team.
Earlier this summer, Thomas played with the Utah Jazz in the NBA Summer League.
The third senior on last year’s Patriot League championship squad, Stephen Brown, is also expected to play overseas next season. The class of Brown, Foulland and Thomas captured four straight regular-season championships and went to the NCAA Tournament in both 2017 and 2018.
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