Thomas to continue pro career in Spain

For five years, Jiselle Thomas has been a traveling nomad. The former Norwalk High School standout and the city's all-time basketball points leader enjoys seeing the world by extending her career. With her latest move, Thomas may also be setting herself up for life overseas for the long haul after this fall and winter. Thomas, a 2017 NHS graduate, played professionally in Ireland and Iceland over the past two years. Now, she has secured her dual citizenship for France after she spent most of the summer waiting for her passport to be approved. After it was all finalized, Thomas will play as a European as opposed to an American, which opened up more basketball opportunities in Europe. The first female to play professionally from the NHS girls program recently signed with Celta Baloncesto from the Liga Femenina Endesa league. It is the highest level of league competition for women's basketball in Spain. The league was founded in 1964 and is played under FIBA rules. Thomas will be residing in Vigo, Spain. The coastal city in the northwest corner of the country has a population of more than 292,000 people. That will be nothing new for Thomas, who spent her first year of professional basketball in Dublin, Ireland. "I'm capable, and not many get the opportunity to do something like this," Thomas said. "I thought about doing it for just one year, but I love what comes with it as far as the experiences and lessons. "I'd love to continue to travel and see more." Because the upcoming season begins in the fall, the dual citizenship created more roster opportunities if Thomas is a citizen of France. She will be playing in Spain as a French citizen. "It helped me get there a little quicker because there are limited spots for American players," she said. "This is about getting to where I want to go faster." Last season, Thomas played for Valur Reykjavik in the Icelandic Bonus League, which ran from October to April. In 27 games, she averaged 17.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. Thomas also scored 20 or more points in 12 of the 27 games. Her season high was 28 points, which she did twice in games on Dec. 10 and March 12 last season. "I left for Iceland at the end of September, which was a little bit later than normal, so I got signed a little late and missed one game," Thomas said. "Reykjavik is the most well-known city in Iceland, and it was a great experience in the gym and experiencing the city. It was really nice and is stunningly beautiful and should be on everyone's bucket list." One big adjustment, however, came during the winter months. The sun rises around 11 a.m. during winter in Iceland and sets early, typically in the 3-4 p.m. range. "You had four or five hours of daylight basically," she said. "That was a big change, obviously. But I really did enjoy it. You adjust to the cold, but I will say it was absolutely freezing. "It was cool to see when the sun did come out, because people would wear winter jackets with shorts. It was so funny to see how the natives handle it." On the court, Thomas called her second professional season a big year of growth. In the Ireland Super League, she averaged 20.1 points and 4.4 assists per game in 2023-24. "I played point guard in high school but didn't in college," she said. "So it was the first year I felt like I was a true point guard. When I was in Ireland, I was learning a lot. My head coach in Iceland, Jamil Abiad, is from Canada and played in college and is also an assistant coach for a men's team. "His background was deep and knowledgeable, and he held me to a higher standard from Ireland," she added. "I grew and learned another level to the game as a true point guard as far as how to make reads and keep the pace." Thomas said her team battled injuries and constant roster changes to a 12-17 record. "We had a lot to overcome, and a lot of those losses, hey, it's on the point guard always," she said. "At least that's what my coach instilled in me. To rate myself, I don't know how to put a number on it but just to say I grew a lot on and off the court — which was most important to me." Thomas finished her graduate season of eligibility in March 2023 for Eastern Tennessee State University. She graduated from Florida International in December 2020 with a degree in communications. She also finished her Master's in media and journalism communication from Griffith College University in Ireland. In 35 games (34 starts) at ETSU, Thomas averaged a team-high 15.1 points, five rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 29.4 minutes per game. She shot 84 percent (131-of-156) from the free-throw line and 40 percent (187-of-472) from the field. She scored 527 points for the season — which saw her earn first-team all-conference — and finished her collegiate career with 1,522 points. Before moving to Ireland, Thomas' collegiate career was a road well-traveled. Her career began at High Point University, where she averaged 6.6 points in 21 games as a true freshman at the North Carolina school. After sitting out a year after transferring, Thomas spent the next two seasons at Florida International. While at FIU, Thomas started in 33 of 57 games for the Panthers. She averaged 11.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in the 2019-20 season, then 16.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game in the 2020-21 season. In 2020, she became one of nine players in Conference USA history to record a triple-double (18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 steals) against Middle Tennessee State. Thomas also had 34 points and 15 rebounds in a C-USA tournament win over Southern Mississippi. Thomas then had a brief stop in Philadelphia at Temple University in 2021-22, appearing in nine games before transferring to ETSU. The daughter of Jeff Thomas and Chrystal Thomas is arguably the most decorated and accomplished basketball player in the city of Norwalk's history. She scored 2,023 points in 96 career games (21.1 average) with the Truckers. That is 535 points more than the next closest player in boys and girls basketball at Norwalk or St. Paul. As a senior, Thomas averaged 24.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game to earn Division II All-Ohio Player of the Year honors. She was runner-up for the prestigious Ms. Basketball award. Also in her career at Norwalk, Thomas scored 35-plus points nine times. She also finished with more than 500 rebounds, 300 assists, and 300 career steals in high school. Thomas also scored a record 46 points in just 22 minutes of a game at Tiffin Columbian. In the 2016-17 season, she helped the Truckers to a then-program record 21 wins and the first regional appearance in program history. Norwalk won 37 games over her final two seasons with the program's first-ever district championship. Prior to that, the Truckers had just three winning seasons and had never won a district game. Between high school and college, Thomas scored 3,609 points in eight seasons. But now, it's about traveling the world and playing professionally, something she never dreamed of or set as a goal growing up in Norwalk. Her end goal is to establish connections and work with athletes in France or somewhere else in Europe. "Basketball is the vehicle to get me where I want to go," Thomas said. "I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with my degrees or pursue some things more. But this is somewhere I'd like to live and start a family. "Hopefully I can continue to play professionally for a few more years and slowly ease my way out to focus on my career and life after basketball when the time comes."