Thomas Gipson
Gipson with the Kansas State Wildcats in 2012
No. 42 – Elitzur Ashkelon
PositionPower forward
LeagueLiga Leumit
Personal information
Born (1993-01-11) January 11, 1993
Dallas, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High schoolCedar Hill (Cedar Hill, Texas)
CollegeKansas State (2011–2015)
NBA draft2015: undrafted
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2016Kouvot
2016Halcones de Ciudad Obregón
2016Élan Chalon
2016–2017Khimik
2017Correcaminos Colon
2017Boulazac Dordogne
2017–2018Kouvot
2018–2019Karesispor
2019Kouvot
2019–2020Ciclista Olímpico
2020Merkezefendi Bld. Denizli Basket
2021–2022Dorados de Chihuahua
2022–presentIroni Ashkelon
Career highlights and awards

Thomas Allen Gipson III (born January 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Ironi Ashkelon of the Liga Leumit, the second tier in Israel. He played college basketball for the Kansas State Wildcats.

College career

His father played basketball for Texas and his younger brother, Trevis, played college football at Tulsa.[1] Gipson started 14 games as a sophomore at Kansas State and averaged 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game on the Big 12 regular season co-champion. Over the summer he worked on slimming down and adding muscle.[2] As a junior, Gipson posted 11.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. On August 13, 2014, he was arrested for speeding and driving with a revoked license.[3] Coming into his senior year, he had shoulder surgery.[4] As a senior, he averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.[5] He was a 1,000 point scorer at Kansas State.[1] He was named co-winner of the Rolando Blackman Team Most Valuable Player award along with Nino Williams and received the Jack Hartman Top Defensive Player and Bob Boozer Courage awards.[6]

Professional career

After graduating from the university, Gipson was interested in the NBA and European professional teams but drew the attention of NFL teams. He trained with the Green Bay Packers in the spring of 2015 despite never playing competitive football before. “The main things I want to work on are my footwork and getting low and moving and blocking,” Gipson said.[1] He gave up on the idea after figuring that climbing up to the NFL level would have taken at least two years of work.[5]

In September 2015, Gipson became a professional basketball player in Europe after signing a one-year contract with the Finnish team Kouvot.[7] Gipson averaged 13.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game on the season.[8] The Kouvot progressed to the finals where it faced Tampereen Pyrintö. In the fourth game, Gipson was ejected for kicking his feet at Joonas Cavén. The Kouvot won the Finnish Championship in 4–1 series.[9]

After the end of the Finnish season in May, Gipson moved to the Mexican team Halcones de Ciudad Obregón.[8] In September 2016 he moved to the French team, Élan Chalon and averaged 2.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in eight games. He was released by Élan Chalon in November and signed with the Ukrainian team BC Khimik.[10] After a brief stay in Ukraine, in January 2017 Gipson joined Correcaminos Colon of the Panamanian league and averaged 8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He signed with the French team Boulazac Basket Dordogne on February 18.[11] Gipson rejoined Kouvot in September, signing a one-year contract.[12]

In January 2020, Gipson signed with Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizli Basket of the Turkish Basketball First League.[13] He missed the 2020–21 season due to COVID-19 restrictions. On June 15, 2021, Gipson signed with the Dorados de Chihuahua of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional.[14]

The Basketball Tournament

Thomas Gipson played for Team Purple & Black in the 2018 edition of The Basketball Tournament. He scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the team's first-round loss to Atlanta Dirty South.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Robinett, Kellis (April 10, 2015). "After successful Kansas State basketball career, Thomas Gipson eyes NFL". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  2. ↑ Corbitt, Ken (September 28, 2013). "K-State looks for big things from slimmer Gipson". Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  3. ↑ "KSU's Thomas Gipson arrested on suspicion of driving with revoked license". Kansas City Star. August 14, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  4. ↑ McMillan, Emily. "Kansas State Student-Athlete Spotlight: Thomas Gipson". Big 12 Conference. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  5. 1 2 "K-State's Gipson giving up the NFL dream — for now, at least". Fox Sports. May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Thomas Gipson, Nino Williams share K-State basketball MVP award". Topeka Capital-Journal. April 16, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Thomas Gipson tuomaan kokoa Kouvojen korin alle". Basket.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Obregon adds Gipson to their roster, ex Kouvot". Eurobasket. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  9. ↑ Lehtinen, Lauri (May 8, 2016). "Kouvot otti voiton tulikuumasta Hakametsän väännöstä". AAMulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Pro A : Thomas Gipson libéré par Chalon". L'Equipe (in French). November 13, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  11. ↑ Guillot, Benjamin (February 18, 2017). "L'ancien chalonnais Thomas Gipson renforce Boulazac". Basket Europe (in French). Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  12. ↑ Toivonen, Niko (September 10, 2017). "Thomas "Täystuho" Gipson III is back". Kouvot (in Finnish). Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Merkezefendi Basket transferde şaha kalktı". Delikli Cinar.com (in Turkish). January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Gipson re signs at Dorados". Latinbasket. June 15, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
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