BATON ROUGE, La. - After an outstanding freshman season with Louisiana State University basketball, Chesapeake native Cam Thomas has declared for the NBA Draft.
"Words can't express how thankful and proud I am to be in this position," Thomas said in a Tweet, "and would like to sincerely thank everybody who helped me on this long journey."
Thomas earned All-SEC First Team honors in 2021, SEC All-Tournament team honors and was the USA Today SEC Newcomer of the Year.
Thomas led all NCAA D1 freshmen in scoring and had one of the top freshman seasons in LSU Basketball history. He averaged 23.0 points per game, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists.
"I appreciate all the love and support from the 757 to Baton Rouge, especially my mom and my sister," Thomas said. "I also want to thank Coach Wade, the coaching staff and my teammates who have helped me prepare for what's ahead. It's been a great ride as a freshman at LSU and to be able to wear purple and gold is an honor that I will never forget."
NEXT CHAPTER💜💛 #24out #RipKobe pic.twitter.com/1oQqaGTvU7
— Cameron (@24_camthomas) April 15, 2021
The only former LSU players to finish with a higher scoring average as a first-year player were Pete Maravich (1967-68, 43.8), Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (1988-89, 30.2) and Bob Pettit (1951-52, 25.5).
Thomas finished fourth in the nation in scoring average, third in total points (668) and first in free throws made (194).
In Thomas' 2 career NCAA Tournament games, he finished with 57 points, tying with Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson for the most points ever by a freshman through their first 2 NCAA tournament games.
"Attending LSU has put me in the position to live out my lifelong dream of becoming a professional basketball player at the highest level," Thomas said. "With that being said. I am declaring for the 2021 NBA draft and intend to sign with an agent."
The 2021 NBA Draft is scheduled to take place Thursday, July 29.
