Hapoel Holon have added another body to their backcourt, agreeing terms with Drew Thelwell, the American-Jamaican point guard, as the club keeps reshaping its roster ahead of the new Israeli Basketball Super League season, ONE reports.
Thelwell, 24 and 1.91m, arrives from Pau-Lacq-Orthez, where he spent his rookie professional season after leaving American college basketball. He helped the French club win promotion out of the second tier, averaging 10.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists a game along the way, according to ONE.
Before turning pro he spent four seasons at Morehead State before using a fifth year of college eligibility at Iowa, where in 2024-25 he averaged 9.5 points, 3.0 assists and 2.2 rebounds a game for the Hawkeyes, per the report.
He has also become a regular for Jamaica's senior national team, putting up 15.0 points, 4.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds a game across six FIBA World Cup qualifiers, ONE notes.
Head coach Predrag Krunić, the Bosnian who took over the Holon bench this year, welcomed the signing: "Drew is a player who can play at high intensity on both ends of the floor, in defense and in attack," he said, according to ONE.
Sporting director Daniel Ravitz was equally upbeat, calling Thelwell "a young, promising point guard who capped his first season in Europe with a title-winning campaign" — a reference to Orthez's promotion-clinching run in France's second division.
Financial terms and the length of the contract were not disclosed in the report.
The move fits the pattern of Hapoel Holon's off-season approach: bringing in young, upwardly-mobile guards from Europe and the American college ranks as the club looks to build depth in its backcourt for the coming campaign.
