IN THE GAME

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TEAM	Valencia Basket	POSITION	SG/SF
LEAGUES	ACB, Euroleague	BORN	1982
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PASSPORT	Eritrea/USA	STATISTICS	See below
SIZE	1.95m/6’5ft

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	CONTRACT	None
	NOTES	None

Domestic Statistics

DOM								FG
YEAR	CLUB	P/G	R/G	A/G	S/G	B/G	FGM	FGA	PCT	A/FGA
2001/02	Washington State	3,33	2,22	1,15	0,52	0,19	1,11	3,07	0,361	0,373
2002/03	Washington State	9,96	3,41	3,67	1,41	0,30	3,37	7,89	0,427	0,465
2003/04	Washington State	11,07	2,86	2,24	1,31	0,34	4,21	8,83	0,477	0,254
2004/05	Washington State	14,32	4,29	2,82	1,54	0,36	4,82	11,21	0,430	0,252
2005/06	Dexia Mons Hainaut	13,33	1,52	0,94	0,85	0,12	1,33	3,39	0,393	0,277
2006/07	Turow Zgorzelec	15,69	2,90	2,05	2,03	0,26	5,33	10,41	0,512	0,197
2007/08	Turow Zgorzelec	15,16	3,03	2,00	2,42	0,21	4,82	9,79	0,492	0,204
2008/09	Unicaja Malaga	10,30	1,73	1,49	1,16	0,14	3,51	7,81	0,450	0,190
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DOM			3FG			FT
YEAR	CLUB	3FGM	3FGA	PCT	FTM	FTA	PCT	3FG/FG	FT/FG	eFG%
2001/02	Washington State	0,67	2,00	0,333	0,44	0,56	0,800	0,651	0,181	0,470
2002/03	Washington State	2,30	5,04	0,456	0,93	1,26	0,735	0,638	0,160	0,573
2003/04	Washington State	2,45	5,52	0,444	0,90	0,93	0,963	0,625	0,105	0,615
2004/05	Washington State	2,89	6,89	0,420	1,79	2,36	0,758	0,615	0,210	0,559
2005/06	Dexia Mons-Hainaut	0,79	2,06	0,382	0,61	0,88	0,690	0,607	0,259	0,509
2006/07	Turow Zgorzelec	2,77	6,31	0,439	2,26	2,92	0,772	0,606	0,281	0,645
2007/08	Turow Zgorzelec	3,08	6,55	0,470	2,45	2,89	0,845	0,669	0,296	0,649
2008/09	Unicaja Malaga	1,97	4,92	0,401	1,30	1,57	0,828	0,630	0,201	0,576

Euroleague Statistics

YEAR

CLUB

P/G

R/G

A/G

S/G

B/G

FGM

FGA

PCT

A/FGA

2008/09

Unicaja Malaga

11,75

1,88

1,31

1,19

0,38

3,94

9,19

0,429

0,143

3FG

YEAR

CLUB

3FGM

3FGA

PCT

FTM

FTA

PCT

3FG/FG

FT/FG

eFG%

2008/09

Unicaja Malaga

2,44

6,19

0,394

1,44

1,75

0,821

0,673

0,190

0,561

EuroCup Statistics

YEAR

CLUB

P/G

R/G

A/G

S/G

B/G

FGM

FGA

PCT

A/FGA

2007/08

Turow Zgorzelec

14,80

3,20

1,93

1,07

0,33

4,73

11,33

0,418

0,171

3FG

YEAR

CLUB

3FGM

3FGA

PCT

FTM

FTA

PCT

3FG/FG

FT/FG

eFG%

2007/08

Turow Zgorzelec

2,60

7,07

0,368

2,73

3,07

0,891

0,624

0,271

0,532

Scouting Report

Scouting Report

Overlook: A hard-working two-way-player who had an excellent season in Turow before playing a successful Euroleague and ACB year with Unicaja.

Strengths: A deadly three point shooter with unlimited range. Easily makes the NBA three pointer on a regular basis, lets it fly in motion and off balance, after curling around the screen or pulling up off the dribble. A large part of his scoring production relies on the three point shot, had a 3FGA/FGA ratio of 67.34 percent in the 08/09 Euroleague season. Solid upper body, quite physical and definitely not unathletic, but not a highlight-reel type of leaper. A very good one on one defender as well, usually guarded the opponent’s best perimeter player in both Turow and Unicaja. Sound footwork, extremely long arms and defensive awareness. A glue guy, team-first, high-energy player who can help any team. Great character.

Weaknesses: Lack of slashing abilities keep him from being a complete scorer. Only 28 free throw attempts in 16 Euroleague games. Pretty much limited to shooting and defending, which can help a lot of teams but isn’t enough to be tagged a complete offensive player. Subpar passer. Not much else to write since he plays his heart out, knows his limits and tries to help his team everywhere he can.

07 Jan 2009; Free Agent Class 2009: The Shooting Guards
Another player who signed a 1+1 contract is Malaga’s Thomas Kelati, one of the shooting stars of the 08/09 Euroleague campaign. Kelati, a former standout for the Washington State Cougars in the NCAA, was huge for PGE Turow Zgorcelec last year, as he led the Polish club to the ULEB-Cup quarter finals. He is a two-way player, as he excels as a true one-on-one stopper on the defensive end as well as a deadly shot-maker on the offensive end. An absolute bargain at a reported 310.000€ net/year salary, Kelati is mostly utilised by Aito Reneses coming around screens and get open for the catch and shoot, and is currently leading Unicaja with 13.4 points per game in the Euroleague. 54 of his 78 shot attempts are coming from beyond the arc. He is not limited to shooting open threes however, as he can make tough shots off the dribble as well as difficult, contested shots coming off the screen in setplay.

12 Dec 2008; Full article
The 26-year-old American-Eritrean Thomas Kelati has been a revelation at the two spot for Unicaja so far. Kelati, a summer arrival from Turow Zgorzelec, where he was the team’s best scorer and premier perimeter defender in the Polish league and in the ULEB-Cup, is a very quick shooting guard with an excellent stroke from beyond the arc. Coming off the screen, Kelati doesn’t hesitate a second to let it fly, and he can hit those shots despite high pressure. He’s not a pure catch and shoot player though by any means, as he works the ballscreen himself effectively, mostly looking for his own shot, sometimes looking for the feed. On the defensive end, he did an excellent job Olympiacos’ scoring leader Lynn Greer, who finished with a dismal 3 points on 1/6 shooting and 3 turnovers. Kelati is currently averaging 13.9 points per game in the Euroleague. He’s shooting 41.7 percent from downtown, making three shots from beyond the arc in average per game.

Career Notes

Thomas Kelati, whose parents are Eritrean [the only professional Eritrean basketball player out there], was born in the US and had a solid NCAA career with the Washington State Cougars, before going overseas, joining Dexia Mons-Hainaut on a one-year-contract in summer 2005. Next stop was Turow Zgorzeleg, who Kelati helped finish second in the domestic league as well as reach the quarter finals in the ULEB-Cup in 07/08. Standing out as both a scorer and a defender under Saso Filipovski, a great defensive-minded basketball coach, Kelati was getting attractive for several Euroleague clubs. It was Spanish club Unicaja that managed to snatch the swingman on a one-year-contract for a bargain 310.000€ net/year. In summer 2009, he signed with Olympiacos for 1.800.000€ net over two seasons, but failed the medical test. Was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but was cut from the roster before the start of the season.