By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Darius Thompson signed a two-year contract with Cazoo Baskonia, the team announced Friday.
Thompson, 27, emerges as the fourth newcomer for the team based in Vitoria-Gasteiz lacking previous experience in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Fellow rookies signed up are Daulton Hommes, Markus Howard, and Maik Kotsar. Completing the list of new players, Dani Diez carries the experience of 71 games played, split between Unicaja and Real Madrid.
Coming off a solid display in the 7DAYS EuroCup, Thompson moved up to the top-tier club competition of Euroleague Basketball. He tallied 13.2 points, 5.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per contest over 12 appearances until the participation of Lokomotiv Kuban was withdrawn in the aftermath of Russia’s invasions of Ukraine and the ongoing war. In addition, he averaged 9.8 points, 5.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game over 11 appearances in the VTB United League.
From Tennessee, Virginia to Western Kentucky and UT Martin, he turned pro in the Netherlands inking a contract with ZZ Leiden for the 2018-19 season. He was named DBL MVP, was successful in winning the Dutch Cup, and was the top scorer in both the domestic league and FIBA Europe Cup. Moving to Italy and Happy Casa Brindisi for the next two seasons, achievements include being named in the 2020-21 Star Lineup Second Team of the Basketball Champions League. Following the spell at the team based in Krasnodar, he committed to play under new head coach Joan Penarroya at Baskonia.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net