Thomas James Copa (born October 30, 1964) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. After graduating from Marquette he went on to play professionally in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) and in Europe. Born in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, he was named

Minnesota Mr. Basketball Minnesota Mr. Basketball is an annual award recognizing excellence in Minnesota boys' high school basketball. The female equivalent is Minnesota Miss Basketball. The award's legitimacy was challenged in February 2017 when Henry Sibley, Minnesota h ...

in 1983.

College career

Copa played college basketball for Marquette Warriors from 1983 to 1987. In 120 career games, he averaged 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Professional career

Although chosen with the 44th pick in the 1987 CBA draft, Copa moved to Vail, Colorado after graduating where he worked as a shuttle-bus driver from the Stapleton Airport to Vail for the winter. The following summer, he attended a camp for European scouts where he had a good showing and was eventually signed by Belgian club Maccabi Brussels. He spent three seasons in Belgium, including the 1990–91 season where he averaged 21.2 points and 14.4 rebounds. During the summer of 1991, he attended a rookie free agent camp in Austin ran by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. The Spurs later signed him as a free agent. During the 1991-92 NBA season, Copa averaged 1.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in 33 total games played. The following season, he signed with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

but was waived before the start of the season. He later signed with the

La Crosse Bobcats The La Crosse Bobcats were a Continental Basketball Association basketball team located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from 1996 to the league's bankruptcy in February 2001. The Bobcats were the second CBA team located in La Crosse; previously, the La C ...

in the CBA where he went on to average 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 20 games. In January 1993, he signed with

Saski Baskonia Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D., commonly known as Saski Baskonia (), also known as Cazoo Baskonia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the ...

. The following season he signed with Italian club

Libertas Livorno Libertas Livorno was an Italian professional basketball team based in Livorno, Tuscany. History Established in 1947, the side played in the first division Serie A from 1959 to 1968 , in 1970-71 and again from 1981 to 1994 (with one season in the s ...

but was waived after one game. Following his release and due to the toll his playing career had taken on his body, Copa retired from professional basketball.

References

External links

Spanish League profileItalian League profile
1964 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from Minnesota Centers (basketball) La Crosse Catbirds players Liga ACB players Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball players People from Robbinsdale, Minnesota Sportspeople from Hennepin County, Minnesota San Antonio Spurs players Saski Baskonia players Undrafted National Basketball Association players {{1960s-US-basketball-bio-stub