Courtesy: UGA Sports Communications
Release: 10/17/2008
• Spent part of the summer of ‘09 playing on the U.S. team at the U19 World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand. The Americans went undefeated at the 2-week tournament, with Thompkins as their 2nd-leading scorer at 10.6 points per game. • Was the first UGA player to represent USA Basketball since Jumaine Jones played in the Goodwill Games of 1998.
2008-09 Season • Named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team, as voted by the league’s 12 coaches. • Led Georgia in rebounding with the highest total for a UGA freshman (7.4/game) in 11 years. • Ranked second among Georgia players in scoring at 12.6 points per contest. Led the Bulldogs in blocked shots with 31. • Ranked 8th among all SEC players in rebounding. Was 3rd in scoring and 2nd in rebounding among all of the league’s freshman players. • Scored 20 or more points on five occasions and had a team-high four double-doubles. • Missed first four games -- and nearly all of pre-season practice -- because of a high ankle sprain. It was the third in a series of injuries that slowed his early progress to a crawl. • Despite the limited preparation time, he asserted himself as the Bulldogs’ most potent offensive weapon.
High School • A fourth-team Parade magazine All-American in 2008, when he led the Wesleyan School in Norcross, Ga., to the Georgia state class AA title. Averaged 27.5 points and 14.7 rebounds for the Wolves. • Also played at Wesleyan in the 2005-06 seasons and finished his 3-year career with 1,864 points and 795 rebounds. • Played his junior year at national powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., where he averaged a team-best 15.8 points and 8.9 rebounds. • In his one season there, the Warriors went 40-1 and won the national prep-school championship. • Rated the 30th-best overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com, the 11th-best power forward prospect. Rated the 9th-best power forward prospect by Scout.com. • Father Howard Thompkins Jr. played collegiately at Wagner College and was drafted in 1981 by the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
Career Statistics
FG
3PT
FT
Rebounds
Misc
Year
G-GS
Min-Avg.
FG-FGA
Pct.
3FG-3FGA
Pct.
FT-FTA
Pct.
OFF
DEF
AVG
A
TO
BL
ST
PF-DQ
Pts-Avg.
2009
28-23
729-26.0
134-309
.434
33-86
.384
53-73
.726
58
148
7.4
22
68
31
27
48-0
354-12.6
Total
28-23
729-26.0
134-309
.434
33-86
.384
53-73
.726
58
148
7.4
22
68
31
27
48-0
354-12.6
Personality Profile
Full Name Howard Samuel Thompkins III
Nickname “Smooth,” “USA,” “HTeezy” Birthdate/Birthplace May 29, 1990 / Long Island, N.Y.
Academic Major Pre-Journalism
Favorite Food My mom’s macaroni & cheese
Least Favorite Food Tomatoes, Guacamole
Favorite Beverage Sweet Tea
Favorite TV Show Smart Guy, Wayans, Cribs
Favorite Video Games NCAA 2K9, Street Fighter, Fight Night Round 4
Websites I Most Often Visit Facebook, YouTube, ESPN, NBA, worldstarhiphop.com
Number of Songs on my iPod 2,290
Most-Listened to Music Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Drake, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Kerry Underwood
Teammates Who Make Me Laugh Hardest Vincent Williams, Ebuka Anyaorah
My Biggest Fear Heights
Most Famous Person I’ve Ever Met Michael Jordan Non-Athletic Accomplishment I’m Proudest Of My GPA last year
Best Friends on Other College Teams Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest), Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas), Seth Curry (Duke), Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh) Favorite NBA Team Boston Celtics Favorite Non-Basketball Team New York Yankees Favorite Non-Basketball Athlete Tiger Woods
Courtesy: Dale Zanine
