Jennifer Thomas

Position:
Forward
Height:
6-1
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Lathrup Village, Mich.
High School:
Detroit Country Day

2002-03 Season Notes: Recipient of the 2003 Robin Roberts/WBCA Sports Communication Scholarship, a $2,000 scholarship presented annually to one collegiate women’s basketball player who plans to pursue graduate work and a career in sports communications or journalism ... Earned UNC’s Mildred McCaskill Award, given annually to one female and one male student-athlete who demonstrate excellence in athletics, scholarship and community service ... Recipient of the team’s Athletic Director’s Scholar-Athlete Award ... Started all 34 games at forward and was the only UNC player in the starting lineup for every game ... Averaged 5.4 points and 4.7 rebounds ... Scored in double-figures four times, with 10 points against ETSU and Old Dominion, 12 against Wake Forest (1/9) and 11 against Maryland (2/27) on Senior Night ... Double-double against ODU (10 points, 10 rebounds) was the first of her career ... Led the team with a career-high 11 rebounds, eight in the second half, against NC State on Jan. 5 ... At Clemson on Jan. 16, scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds in the first half, when she played 13 minutes ... On Jan. 23 at Western Michigan, played in her home state for the first time, scoring seven points and grabbing four rebounds. A crowd of about 20 family members and friends made the two-and-a-half-hour trip to Kalamazoo, Mich., from the Detroit area for the game ... At NC State on Feb. 7, scored eight points and tied for the team lead with eight rebounds in 20 minutes of play ... Against Maryland on Feb. 27, participated in Senior Night ceremonies before the game then scored 11 points for her fourth double-digit scoring game of the season. Also had six rebounds in 18 minutes of play ... Against Virginia in the ACC Tournament semifinals, scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds in 24 minutes of play ... Against Duke in the ACC Tournament Championship, scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds ... Averaged 7.0 points and 5.7 rebounds, well above her season averages, in ACC Tournament play ... For the second year, served as one of the three team captains

2001-02 Season Notes: Appeared in every game and started 16, including the last 15 of the season ... Shot 7-for-8 from the field for a season-high 18 points in the first-round NCAA Tournament win over Harvard. Also had five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in that game ... Was 5-for-8 from the field for 12 points in 12 minutes against Western Carolina ... Against FSU on Feb. 4, went 3-for-3 from the field and hit six of eight free throw attempts to tie her season high with 12 points. Also led the team with nine rebounds in that game ... Scored eight points, all in the second half, at Georgia Tech on Feb. 17 ... Scored a then-season-high 13 points in the win at Virginia in a career-high 31 minutes of play ... Scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting in 24 minutes against Vanderbilt on March 23 in the regional semifinal ... Received the team’s Most Improved award at the postseason banquet ... Also the team’s recipient of the Athletic Director’s Scholar-Athlete Award, which goes to one individual on each UNC squad

2000-01 Season Notes: As a sophomore, came off the bench to appear in 26 games ... The team's leading scorer off the bench with 4.8 points per game ? Set career-highs in scoring and steals in the season-opener against Buffalo ... In that game, she made all nine of her attempts from the field and added seven rebounds and three steals in just 14 minutes of play ... Scored in double figures two other times, with 15 points in 13 minutes of play against East Tennessee State and 14 points in 17 minutes against Georgia Tech on Jan. 2 ... In addition to 14 points in the game against Georgia Tech, tied her career high in rebounds with eight

1999-2000 Season Notes: Earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors twice during the season ... The first honor came on Dec. 6 after she scored 15 points against Maryland, 13 against Notre Dame and 18 against Richmond in the preceding week ... The second honor followed the Michigan State game on Dec. 19, when she shot 7-for-9 from the field to score 17 points ... Missed the first three games of the season because she had not yet met team conditioning standards, but appeared in all 30 games after that

At Detroit Country Day: Coached by Frank Orlando ... Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year, USA Today Michigan Player of the Year and Parade All-America as a senior, when she averaged 18 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists ... Over her career, averaged 19 points and 10.6 rebounds per game ... Played in the WBCA High School All-America Game April 3, 1999, in Hartford, Conn., where she started at forward and scored 20 points for the winning team ... Her team won state championships in her freshman, junior and senior seasons ... Four-time all-state selection ... Four-time All-America by Street & Smith's ... Two-time member of the Detroit News Dream Team ... Twice named Michigan's Player of the Year ... Team captain as a junior and senior ... Her AAU team, the Michigan Spartans, won 14-and-under and 16-and-under state championships ... Both teams finished fifth at the AAU national tournament ... Named to the 16-and-under AAU All-America team ... Also earned all-region honors in shot put ... President of the Contemporary Issues Club ... Cum Laude graduate ... Detroit Athletic Club Scholar-Athlete nominee

Personal: Jennifer Lynne Thomas was born Jan. 12, 1981, in Detroit, Mich., and is the daughter of Ronald and Earline Thomas ... She has one younger brother, Omar ... Her uncle, Reggie Oliver, played football at Northern Michigan and for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the USFL ... Working toward a double major in journalism and African-American studies ... A member of the Student Athletic Council and the Black Student Movement ... Also serves as an ACT mentor, helping freshman student-athletes adjust to college life