[3] In 1959 he needed a few credits to earn his degree, so he attended Holmes High School during the summer and graduated.

[1] Thacker attended the University of Cincinnati and played three varsity seasons for the Bearcats under coach Ed Jucker.

As a sophomore in 1960–61, he averaged 12.3 points per game and was named All-Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) as the Bearcats won the league title.

[4] The Bearcats finished the season with a record of 27–3 and, on March 25, 1961, Cincinnati, led by the balanced attack of Thacker, Bob Wiesenhahn, Tony Yates, Paul Hogue and Carl Bouldin,[4] won the NCAA Championship with a 70–65 overtime win over the Ohio State Buckeyes.

With Ron Bonham and George Wilson replacing the departed Wiesenhahn and Bouldin, the Bearcats again captured the NCAA title on March 24, 1962, again over Ohio State, 71–59.

[4] The Bearcats, with the same starting lineup as the year before except for Larry Shingleton replacing the departed Hogue, won the league crown yet again and, for the third straight season, advanced to the NCAA championship game.

[4] Thacker was chosen in the first round (fifth overall) of the 1963 NBA draft as a territorial pick by the Cincinnati Royals.

In his third and final ABA season of 1970–71, he played eight games and his seven-year professional career ended.