Mel Thomas is one of the most popular and richest Basketball Player who was born on August 26, 1985 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Thomas was appointed director of operations for the Florida Gulf Coast women’s basketball team in 2010. For four seasons, she was on the staff of Karl Smesko, the head coach. The Eagles won four consecutive Atlantic Sun Regular-Season Championships. They also made two trips to NCAA Tournament.
Thomas had hoped to be drafted in the second round of 2008’s WNBA Draft. However, she was injured at her ACL and was unable to play. Thomas returned to the court in October 2008 to play her first professional basketball game with the Irish League’s Waterford Wildcats. She scored 33 points in that first game. Thomas was a Waterford Wildcats player for one season, 2008-09. In March 2009, the Seattle Storm of WNBA added Thomas to their training camp roster. She played in the Polish league PLKK for Artego Bydgoszcz during the 2009-10 season.
Thomas’ senior season saw her score her 1,000th career goal against the Virginia Cavaliers, on December 5, 2007, in UConn’s 75-45 win. Her season was cut short nine games later after she sustained an ACL injury against Syracuse on January 15, 2008. Thomas received her 1,000th point ball on January 21st, 2008 against the University of North Carolina Tar Heels in front of a sell-out crowd at Gampel Pavilion. While she was sidelined by the injury her senior year, Thomas kept a daily diary that was eventually published in the book Heart Of A Husky. She ended her UConn career scoring 1,098 points and was in the Top 5 for 3pt FG’s with 224.
Thomas won many awards during her high school basketball career for Cincinnati’s Mount Notre Dame High School. As a junior, she averaged 18.3 points, 5.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds while leading Mount Notre Dame to a 23–3 mark and a regional finals appearance. As a senior, she led the Cougars to a perfect 28-0 record and a Division I Ohio State Championship. She averaged 20.4 points 5.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds, and made several All America teams. Thomas was named a WBCA All-American, and participated in the 2004 WBCA High School All-America Game.
