Former University of Kentucky guard Janee Thompson will start her professional basketball career overseas as she has signed with the Basketball SV Halle Lions in Germany, it was announced recently.
“I look forward to playing for my new team as I start my transition from college to professional basketball and begin to lay the foundation for my career,” Thompson said in a release by the club.
The native of Chicago, played in 119 games with 82 starts during her four-year career at Kentucky, averaging 8.6 points, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
Thompson saved her best season with the Wildcats for last as she averaged 12.6 points per game with 4.8 assists per game. Thompson scored in double figures 23 times, including 20+ points three times. Against highly-ranked Missouri on Senior Night, Thompson posted a career-high 24 points, including 12 points in the fourth quarter to power the Wildcats to victory. Thompson recorded two assist-point double-doubles last season with 16 points and 10 assists against both Eastern Michigan and LSU. She was the first player to record two or more assist-point double-doubles in the same season since 1987-88.
Thompson had six or more assists in 13 games last season, which is the most six-plus assist games in a season in the Matthew Mitchell era. Thompson was 56-for-144 from the 3-point line in 2015-16, which surpassed her career 3-pointers hit of 36 entering the season. Against Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament, she became the 32nd player in program history to record over 1,000 career points.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter and Instagram, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.
by Evan Crane
Assistant Media Relations Director
University of Kentucky Athletics