Þórir Þorbjarnarson

Þórir Guðmundur Þorbjarnarson (born 26 May 1998) is an Icelandic professional basketball player for Tindastóll of the Úrvalsdeild karla. He played college basketball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.[1] Nicknamed "Tóti Túrbó",[2] he has won the Icelandic championship three times and the Icelandic Basketball Cup twice.[3]

Þórir Þorbjarnarson
Þórir with KR in 2015.
No. 10 – Tindastóll
PositionShooting guard
LeagueÚrvalsdeild karla
Personal information
Born (1998-05-26) 26 May 1998 (age 25)
Akureyri, Iceland
NationalityIcelandic
Listed height198 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Listed weight91.5 kg (202 lb)
Career information
CollegeNebraska (2017–2021)
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2014–2017KR
2021KR
2021–2022Landstede Hammers
2022–2023Oviedo CB
2023–presentTindastóll
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Iceland
Games of the Small States of Europe
Bronze medal – third place 2017 San Marino Team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Montenegro Team

Career edit

Early career with KR (2014–2017) edit

Þórir came up through the junior ranks of KR[4][5] and played his first senior game, at the age of 16, on 7 December 2014, when he scored 31 points against Haukar-b in the Icelandic Basketball Cup.[6] During the 2015–2016 season he was named the best young player of the first half of the season.[7] He developed into a key player for KR during its 2017 championship run,[8][9] averaging 10.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game,[10] and was named the Úrvalsdeild Young Player of the Year after the 2016–17 season.[11]

Nebraska (2017–2021) edit

 
Þórir (#34) watching David DeJulius in March 2020

In August, 2017, Þórir joined the University of Nebraska.[3][1][12][13]

On 8 January 2020, he tied his career high with Nebraska after scoring 17 points in a 76–70 win against Iowa.[14]

Return to KR (2021) edit

At the conclusion of his college career, Þórir rejoined KR in April 2021.[15] He appeared in six regular seasons games, averaging 6.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists, scoring a season high 18 points in a 96-85 victory against Stjarnan on 6 May. In the best-of-five first round of the playoffs, KR faced Reykjavík rivals Valur. In game five of the series, Þórir scored 15 points in the narrow 89-86 win. KR was eliminated semi-finals 0-3 against first seeded Keflavík. In the playoffs, Þórir averaged 8.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 8 games.

He started the following season with KR. On 12 November he posted 28 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists in an overtime victory against Stjarnan in the Úrvalsdeild.[16] In 8 Úrvalsdeild games he averaged 15.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.

Landstede Hammers (2021–2022) edit

On December 6, 2021, Þórir signed with Landstede Hammers of the BNXT League.[17][18] He made his debut on December 8, in an away game against Aris Leeuwarden.

Oviedo CB (2022–2023) edit

In August 2022, Þórir signed with Oviedo CB of the Spanish LEB Oro.[19]

Tindastóll (2023–present) edit

On 17 July 2023, Þórir returned to Iceland and signed with reigning national champions Tindastóll.[20]

National team career edit

In June 2016, Þórir helped Iceland's U-18 team win the Nordic championship and for his performance, he was named to the tournaments All-first team.[21] Þórir was a member of Iceland's U-20 team that finished 8th at the 2017 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. He was selected for the senior national team for the first time prior to its games at the 2017 Games of the Small States of Europe in San Marino. He played five games during the tournament and helped Iceland finish third.[22]

Career statistics edit

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Nebraska 9 0 2.1 .429 .400 .4 .3 .1 .0 .9
2018–19 Nebraska 25 7 12.2 .339 .174 .667 2.1 1.2 .6 .2 2.0
2019–20 Nebraska 32 24 29.2 .452 .372 .780 4.8 1.3 1.1 .1 8.8
2020–21 Nebraska 27 12 22.1 .342 .294 .769 3.1 1.7 .9 .1 3.9
Career 93 43 20.0 .405 .329 .758 3.1 1.3 .8 .1 4.8

Awards, titles and accomplishments edit

Club career edit

Individual awards edit

Titles edit

National team edit

Individual awards edit

  • U-18 Nordic championships All-first team: 2016

Titles edit

  • U-18 Nordic championships winner: 2016

References edit

  1. ^ a b Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (7 August 2017). "Sá efnilegasti til Nebraska". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  2. ^ Runólfur Trausti Þórhallsson (30 October 2021). "Er að byggja feril sinn upp á nýtt sem tilvonandi atvinnumaður ef hann heldur rétt á spilunum". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (19 October 2017). "Tóti túrbó er með hreiminn á hreinu - Myndband". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  4. ^ Sigurður Elvar Þórólfsson (31 March 2011). "Þórir reyndi að endurtaka ótrúlega skotið - æfir sig daglega". Vísir.is / Stöð 2 (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  5. ^ Kristján Jónsson (11 February 2017). "Gíraði sig upp í margar vikur". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  6. ^ "16 ára leikmaður KR sló í gegn í bikarnum". RÚV (in Icelandic). 7 December 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  7. ^ Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (21 March 2017). "26. maí 1998 var mikilvægur dagur fyrir framtíð íslenska körfuboltans". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  8. ^ Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (13 November 2016). "Körfuboltakvöld: Sett í Túrbógírinn". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  9. ^ Kristinn Páll Teitsson (6 November 2016). "Þórir með þrefalda tvennu í stórsigri KR - Fjölnismenn með öruggan sigur". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  10. ^ Basnett, Chris (8 August 2017). "Thorbjarnarson ready to make name for himself at NU". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  11. ^ Guðmundur Hilmarsson (5 May 2017). "Þórir Guðmundur á leið til Bandaríkjanna". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  12. ^ Ricky O'Donnell (8 August 2017). "Nebraska basketball lands Icelandic recruit Thorir Thorbjarnarson, who is your new favorite player". SB Nation. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  13. ^ Barfknech, Lee (7 August 2017). "Icelandic wing Thorir Thorbjarnarson warms up, commits to Huskers, Tim Miles". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  14. ^ Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (8 January 2020). "Þórir tekinn í sjónvarpsviðtal úti á gólfi eftir að hafa jafnað persónulegt met í nótt". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  15. ^ Einar Örn Jónsson (22 April 2021). "Þórir aftur til KR". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  16. ^ Runólfur Trausti Þórhallsson (13 November 2021). "Körfuboltakvöld um Þóri: "Fáir íslenskir leikmenn með sama vopnabúr" - "Eins og hálfgerð ofurhetja"". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  17. ^ Skerletic, Dario (December 6, 2021). "Thorir Thorbjarnarson joins Landstede Hammers". Sportando. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  18. ^ Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (6 December 2021). "KR-ingar missa landsliðsmanninn sinn til Hollands". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Þórir Guðmundur til Spánar". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  20. ^ Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (17 July 2023). "Þórir til Stólanna". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  21. ^ Edda Sif Pálsdóttir (30 June 2016). "Strákarnir Norðurlandameistarar í körfubolta". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Þórir: Mjög spenntur að takast á við þetta". karfan.is (in Icelandic). 10 August 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.

External links edit