21 Henry Thomas

Henry Thomas was born Henry Slack Thomas on February 8, 1971, in Nashville, Tennessee to McArthur and Charlotte West.

Thomas averaged 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game his senior season to lead his Clarksville team to a 27-5 record and a berth in the state playoffs.  He was named All-District, All-County, and All-State as well as Converse All-America Honorable Mention.  Thomas scored a career-high 34 points in the first game of the state tournament.  He was nicknamed “the Blade” due to his thin build.  Thomas scored 1,399 points in his high school career.

Thomas signed to play for Kentucky on April 30, 1989.

Thomas injured his left knee just before school began his freshman season in 1989-90 and redshirted.

As a redshirt freshman, Thomas saw action in 14 games, played a total of 62 minutes and scored seven points.

After meeting with his parents and UK doctors in late October 1991, Thomas chose to stop playing basketball. UK placed Thomas on a medical scholarship.  “The decision was not that difficult,” said Thomas. “When you have a choice between walking in 10 years: and playing right now, it’s not that difficult to decide.  It is difficult to give up something you’ve done and loved all your life.”  His limited role on the team as backup to John Pelphrey and Jeff Brassow at small forward — contributed to the decision, Thomas said.  The decision came down to “walking in 10 years or playing sparingly,” he said.