Corny Thompson

Cornelius Allen "Corny" Thompson (born February 5, 1960) is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'8" (203 cm) 225 lb (102 kg) power forward who occasionally also played the center position. Thomson was a member of the Joventut Badalona team that reached a EuroLeague final in 1992, and lifted the trophy in 1994.

Corny Thompson
Personal information
Born (1960-02-05) February 5, 1960
Middletown, Connecticut
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolMiddletown
(Middletown, Connecticut)
CollegeUConn (1978–1982)
NBA draft1982 / Round: 3 / Pick: 50th overall
Selected by the Dallas Mavericks
Playing career1982–1996
PositionPower forward
Number25
Career history
As player:
1982–1983Dallas Mavericks
1983–1984Detroit Spirits
1984–1990Pallacanestro Varese
1990–1994Joventut Badalona
1994–1996León
As coach:
2011–presentTrotamundos de Carabobo
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life

Corny started playing basketball because people suggested that he play because he was tall. He was about 6'5" before he got to High School.[1] He wasn't serious about it until Middle School. From then on, every year, Corny progressed, went to camp and became a better player.

High school

Corny attended Middletown High School in Middletown, Connecticut. In his freshman season, Corny was too good for the freshman team so he was promoted up to the Varsity team. The Varsity coach was Tom Labella. The team lost 5 or 6 games that year. In his sophomore through senior seasons the team won 76 games in a row. That record has still not been broken. The team won three State Championships and was ranked in the top 25 basketball teams in the country. Corny was the captain in the 1976, 1977, 1978 seasons (sophomore-senior). Corny still holds many records at Middletown High School.[2]

College career

North Carolina, Virginia, Princeton and UConn were the schools Corny narrowed his decision down to.[3] Corny liked the idea of staying close to home and he thought there would be advantages to being close to home. At Connecticut he was coached by Dom Perno. In his freshman season Corny started in every game, and the Huskies made the NCAA Tournament. Corny led the team in scoring all four years at UConn and finished with 1,810 points, and 1,017 rebounds.[4] Corny graduated in 1982 with a degree in Business

Professional career

Thompson was the 4th pick in the third round (50th overall) of the 1982 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks and played 44 games with them in the 1982–83 season, averaging 2.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. During the summer prior to his second year with the Mavericks, he suffered a knee injury, after which he was released from the team. Corny worked hard to get healthy and played basketball in Italy for Pallacanestro Varese in the Italian league for six years. It is when he played in the Spanish ACB League for a great Joventut Badalona team between 1990 and 1994 that he reached his full potential though, making it to the FIBA European League final in 1992 and winning the title in 1994.Tompson scoring the winning 3 point shot at the 1994 FIBA European League Final Four against Olympiacos.[5]

References
  1. http://www.uconnhooplegends.com/menslegends/ThompsonCorny.html
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2009-06-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. http://www.uconnhooplegends.com/menslegends/ThompsonCorny.html
  4. http://www.uconnhuskies.com/datadump/MBasketball/2009/Media_Guide/UConn_103-118.pdf
  5. onsports.gr ΤΕΛ ΑΒΙΒ, 19 και 21 ΑΠΡΙΛΙΟΥ 1994: Ο Κορνέλιους, οι βολές και οι... βάρβαροι
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