Thomas Picks Pack!
Head Basketball Coach Sidney Lowe has landed his first commitment of the 2007 recruiting class in Johnny Thomas. (N&O Link)
The 6-foot-5 Thomas was impressive last month in the annual Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions and has a strong basketball resume. He averaged 17.8 points per game last season while leading Greensboro Day to the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association championship. In a regular-season matchup, Greensboro Day defeated eventual state 3-A champion Greensboro Dudley by 18 points. In May, he led the North Carolina Gaters to the AAU U-17 state title.
Thomas’ recruiting was led by assistant coach, Pete Strickland. The Wolfpack beat out scholarship offers from Virginia Tech and Miami (Fla.) and interest from Wake Forest for Thomas. State coaches believe that they ‘got in on the ground floor’ with Thomas, and that his skills and performance was going to continue to generate interest from a growing list of schools. This decision became more plausible last week when Eric Wallace chose Virginia and it became more obvious that State was focusing all of our efforts on Thomas.
Thomas size and game is compared by some to a blend of Cameron Bennerman and PJ Tucker.
Greensboro’s News & Record says that “Thomas could have waited” in their article on the news.
The athletic 6-foot-5 wing was a rising star on the AAU circuit. More offers could very well have been on the way.
“I could have waited for all these other colleges,” Thomas said, “but when it came down to it I already knew where I wanted to go years before.”
“They put all their focus on me,” Thomas said. “I liked all the coaches, all the energy they brought to my recruitment.”
Inlcuding Thomas, State has five scholarships for the 2007 class.
Projected 2007-2008 NC State Basketball Roster
Senior Class
(1) Gavin Grant (G/F)
Junior Class
(2) Courtney Fells (SG)
(3) Ben McCauley (F/C)
Sophomore Class
(4) Brandon Costner (hopefully gets redshirt) (3F/4F)
(5) Trevor Ferguson (SG)
(6) Dennis Horner (F)
(7) Fernold Degand (PG)
(8) Bartosz Lewandowski (C)
Freshman Class
(9) Johnny Thomas (G/F)
(10) N/A
(11) N/A
(12) N/A
(13) N/A
57 Responses to “Thomas Picks Pack!”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
-
-
04/16/2007
[...] We refer you to our entry on the day that Johnny committed to NC State. [...]
-
-
08/03/2007
[...] This year’s recruiting class started coming together when Johnny Thomas committed to the Wolfpack in early June of last year. The class kept picking up steam and then picked up momentum from there. [...]
-
-
09/12/2007
[...] While we are on the topic of Johnny Thomas, we should highlight a a good article that linked by aloyal reader in the past. The source website is horrible and doesn’t contain the article anymore…luckily, we copied and pasted the piece and it can be seen below. Although not particularly well-written (as each sentence is its own paragraph), the article provides some good information. Additionally, it is a good time to turn your attention to this entry from last year to grasp the condition of NC State’s program when Thomas committed to the Pack. Thomas living a dream at N.C. State By J.J. Smith, NEWS-TIMES MOREHEAD CITY — For every boy who grew up in the state of North Carolina with a passion for basketball, a dream existed of one day suiting up in N.C. State red or Tar Heel or Duke blue and competing in arguably the greatest basketball conference in the history of college basketball. For Morehead City’s Johnny Thomas, that dream is close to becoming reality as the former West Carteret Patriot will lace up his sneakers for the Wolfpack and compete in the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference this season. When the 2004-2005 News-Times Player of the Year begins play in November with N.C. State, he will become only the second male basketball player – and the first in more than 40 years – from the three current public high schools in the county to make it to the ACC. The last male basketball player to play in the ACC was also a West Carteret Patriot that attended N.C. State. Robert McLean graduated from West Carteret High School in 1965 and went on to play for legendary coaches Press Maravich and Norm Sloan with the Wolfpack. A number of male basketball players from the old Beaufort High School competed in the ACC as well, including the Hassell brothers (Butch, Ray and Charles) who led the Seadogs to three straight 1A state championships (1959-1961). Butch was part of the 1959 and 1960 state champion teams. Under the tutelage of coach Tom McQuaid, the Seadogs set a state record with 91 consecutive victories over the three-year period. At Wake Forest, Butch became the captain of the team while earning all-conference honors. Ray and Charles both attended UNC-Chapel Hill. Gehrmann Holland led the Seadogs to their first state championship in 1955 and accepted a grant to play basketball for Hall of Fame coach Frank McGuire at UNC-Chapel Hill. While there, Holland played on the legendary 32-0 Tar Heel team that defeated Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas for the 1957 NCAA Championship. Thomas himself is no stranger to championships, having led Greensboro Day School to a 32-2 record and the NCISAA 3A state championship in 2006. This past season, Greensboro Day finished 31-2 and lost in the state title game 53-49 to Christ School. Thomas made the NCISAA 3A All-State Basketball Team each of the last two years. The future Wolfpacker also led his N.C. Gaters squad, a 19-under team that consisted of nine Division I college players, to the last two AAU state titles. In his last year at West, Thomas averaged 23.2 points and 8.8 rebounds while leading the Patriots to their second consecutive trip to the conference tournament championship and the state playoffs. The 6-5, 210-pound shooting guard transferred to Greensboro Day – a college preparatory independent school that boasts a 100 percent college acceptance rate – after his junior year at West. The Morehead City native chose to transfer to Greensboro Day to experience a tougher academic and basketball environment. “It really wasn’t a hard decision,” said Thomas, who was home for a few days last week after attending a summer school session at N.C. State. “I knew it was something I would have to do to get where I wanted to be. I was only able to come home about twice a year the last two years, but you have to make sacrifices. And so that was one my sacrifices, leaving my family and friends.” Greensboro Day played against some of the best teams in the state and the surrounding area in Thomas’ two years there. In 2006, the Bengals defeated Greensboro Dudley, with University of Cincinnati and UNC-Chapel Hill signees Kenny Belton and William Graves, by 18 points. Dudley would go on to win the 3A NCHSAA state champion that season. This past season, Greensboro Day gained a victory over George Washington High School from Danville, Va., that was ranked as the top team in Virginia at the time. Thomas’ coach at Greensboro Day, Freddy Johnson, is no stranger to ACC talent, having coached former N.C. State point guard Justin Gainey and former North Carolina forward Jason Capel. It was at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions last May where Thomas made a name for himself in recruiting circles, leading his Gaters squad in scoring while garnering all-tournament honors as well. Thomas was particularly impressive against the World Wide Renegades team that featured future N.C. State freshman teammate J.J. Hickson. “That was when a lot of the ACC schools started taking an interest in me, and once Miami offered me a scholarship, the other ACC schools started offering,” said Thomas. “Virginia Tech and then State offered, and I always wanted to go to State. But with the system the last coach had, I don’t think I would have fit. I thought it was a dead issue, until coach (Sidney) Lowe took over, and then I thought I could go there.” Lowe was named coach at N.C. State on May 6, 2006, after a month-long search to replace Herb Sendek, who left to coach Arizona State. Other schools that showed interest in Thomas included Wake Forest, Xavier, Old Dominion and UNC-Wimington. Thomas signed his letter of intent to attend N.C. State on June 25, 2006, so that he could concentrate on his senior year at Greensboro Day. “It was a relief making the choice so early,” explained Thomas. “I mean it made my senior year a whole lot easier, because being at a private school, I had so much to do. If you have good study habits, you could get the job done – it was very time consuming, since we had a lot of homework at night – but because of it, I am well prepared for college now.” Education is something Thomas takes seriously, evidenced by his academic performance at the challenging Greensboro Day School. Thomas made the Headmaster’s List twice and finished with As and Bs the other two semesters in his two years at the school. “If you play basketball, it is your life’s dream to play in the NBA,” explained Thomas. “But it is only a small percentage that gets to make it to the pros, so you have to have a backup plan.” The soon-to-be N.C. State freshman plans on majoring in architectural design. Thomas is quick to praise his mother and father for making him such a well-rounded person. “My parents (James and Gloria) had a huge influence on me,” he said. “They weren’t the type of parents that were sports fanatics and pushed me to play sports. They supported me in whatever I was interested in.” Thomas credits his brothers, James and Elijah, the latter an all-conference performer in basketball at West, for making Thomas the basketball player he is today. “My oldest brother James actually got me started playing basketball, and I used to play one-on-one with Elijah, and that really helped me develop my game.” Thomas will be joining a Wolfpack team that finished 10th in the 12-team ACC last year but showed signs of improvement late in the season under first-year coach Lowe. Lowe, the point guard on N.C. State’s 1983 NCAA Championship team, directed an undermanned Wolfpack team to three wins in four days in last year’s ACC Tournament before losing to the Tar Heels 89-80 in the championship game. The Wolfpack will welcome six new members to the team this season – two transfers and four freshmen – with Thomas and the other freshman rated as the 14th best class in the country and second in the ACC behind Duke, according to PrepStars Recruiter’s Handbook. Thomas, who was Lowe’s first recruit at N.C. State, is living in an apartment with the other three freshmen and has spent the summer getting to know them and the other members of the teams. “We can’t participate in any sanctioned practices yet, but we play pickup ball just about every day,” said Thomas. “It’s helped me to realize that I can play on this level. I just need to continue working on my ball handling – and I do a ton of shooting. If I can continue that, it will pay off. “I know that as a freshman I have a lot of things to learn, and so I am in the learning process right now. But I know that athletically I can compete on this level. We have a high-powered freshman class coming in, and we are just ready to play. We are going to try and do a lot of big things this year.” The Morehead City native has also found his new home for the next four years to his liking. “I love it at State,” said Thomas. “I’m really comfortable up there. In fact, I’m ready to go back. All of the coaches are really cool. It’s like family up there.” The former News-Times Player of the Year is anxiously awaiting the start of the season, one that will begin at N.C. State this year with Midnight Madness. “I was really excited when I heard we were actually going to have Midnight Madness,” said Thomas with a big smile. “With the freshman class that we have this year, it should be a really big thing. “I’m looking forward to playing in the first home game and playing in the Dean Smith Center and at Cameron (Indoor Stadium), just because of the way their fans are. “I’m looking forward to all of it. It’s really exciting. I can’t wait to get into a jersey and out onto the court.” [...]
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
GO STATE!
With a couple more solid additions, I think the 2007-08 team could surprise some people. Thomas sounds like the type of player who could thrive in Lowe’s system.
Nice signing to get things kicked off for Sid. He’s not highly ranked, but that will change after the TOC. The kid is a strong athlete. JT is gonna bring some excitement.
PG and post player now. Go Sid!
This is a fantastic signing. I get so tired of seeing NC talent go elsewhere. Keep ‘em coming!
Sid & Co(Pete Strickland) first recruited player: in state athelete with character (gives credit to teammates for his improvement), grades (he’s already qualified), and a state championship ring. Hmmm, not bad at all. I saw this young man play against Dudley last year, and he’s a skywalker like Cam without the shaky ballhandling. Does need work on the J though.
Stay tuned, I’ve a feeling the next couple of months might shock even us, with our inflated expectations and whatnot.
rt – Keep in mind, Cam in high school didn’t have the great jumper he left college with. I think Thomas is already improving in this area based on what I’ve read.
I consider this a solid addition to our squad. Lowe probably now needs to focus on trying to land a highly regarded recruit or two if possible. Unless both Grant and Fells blow up next year, w/ the addition of Thomas, we’re set at the 2-3 spots.
I am happy to have him.
In the media bias arena – the Winston Salem Journal said that this was Sidney’s first recruit. Nothing like an informed journalist, eh?
Lift off has commenced. Once other kids get a taste of what this staff is all about, it’s going to mushroom from then on. This is just the start.
“In the media bias arena – the Winston Salem Journal said that this was Sidney’s first recruit”
Technically they are correct. Sid wasnt officially the coach when Degand and Lew signed on. All the media outlets are reporting it as such because of that.
^ Is that true? Didn’t Sidney officially started the day or two before the announcements of these players? Wasn’t that the purpose of waiting for to announce those commitments?
This is really good news. Our 2007 class is about as important as a class can be. You just can’t afford to have back-to-back sub par classes in the ACC. We’ve got so much to offer recruits but we don’t have those long term relationships that sometimes pay off in recruiting. If we can get one guard from among Wright or McMillan and one inside guy from among Vaughn or Hickson to go with Thomas, I will be happy. If we can land a third recruit from these players, I will be ecstatic.
Chris Wright, come on down, you’re the next contestant on the “Revival of the Wolfpack.” Wright and Thomas…that sounds like a good backcourt, right?
“Technically they are correct. Sid wasnt officially the coach when Degand and Lew signed on. All the media outlets are reporting it as such because of that.”
Actually, they are probably all reporting it because they aren’t as informed about NC State basketball recruiting as they should be. If they are technically correct, they should at least mention the other 2 additions. Like I said, I doubt that they know it.
sounds about “wright”!
Ok, ok, that’s my one bad joke for the day.
man… talk about hitting the ground running! Sid-Lo was made for this job : }
come on chris wright, where else can you be guaranteed a starting job as a freshman in a high octane offense?!
I am really excited about wolfpack basketall!
the pack is BACK!!!
Some of the top recruits in the country will be taking closer look shortly. You can count on it. The HEAT is surging out of Raleigh, NC right about now.
“I get so tired of seeing NC talent go elsewhere.”
The Football team is also doing a good job a keeping in state talent at home. All 6 07 committs so far are NC Players.
Lowe should be pushing hard for either Wright or McMillian next. Both could be great PGs for us.
Wright has said numerous times that he has moved on. So I say we move on as well.
McMillian is a tough situation for State. If we recruit him hard and he turns us down, then we really look like fools especially with his dad’s ties to the school and Lowe. Even more so if he goes to Herb at ASU. Its best that we show him some interest but not go all out unless he starts to show great interest in coming here. After all, even though he would be a great addition, he’s still barely a top 100 guy right now.
It would be like one of Jordan’s kids turning down UNC to play for us!
On the other hand, Hudson, the 4 star(top 50) guard out of Hargrave says he likes us alot but most of the major recruiting indexes say we haven’t even offered him.
To me, he should be priority #1!!
I saw Cameron in HS/AAU ball probably 5 or 6 times. He could shoot then too. He had great form even back when he was a junior when I saw him hit 5 threes against the NC’s top team – WS Reynolds.
Unfortunately, he had to play center on defense.
I like this theme of taking a good hard look at the best this state has to offer. A PJ Tucker type, c’mon everyone in the nation has a spot for the tweener types. The versatility causes mismatch’s everytime you step on the court. Honestly goota wipe the slate clean with the Wright, Mc Millan types and give this staff the respect it is clearly due. Let them evaluate the team and what they determine is a top priority and stop making references to work done by the past regime. You think that with SL connections to the Balt./DC area that he can’t determine who he should be focusing on the most? By the way Thomas is a verbal or letter commit?
Wright has NOT “moved on” when it comes to considering NC State as one of his possible college choices. I still think we have a good shot to land him. Georgetown leads, but it is far from over.
This is a verbal commitment early signing period is months away
It’s not a a national LOI, that’s at least encuoraging.
I recall posting a couple of weeks ago about the need to look at NC talent (as WF has successfully done) in order to transition between the next couple of seasons to the consistant national level recruits, which I know Coach Lowe will attract.
I am ecstatic that Sidney, Pete and the guys have done this so quickly. There are other NC prospects out there that are quality kids that can add stability to the squad while the program turns the corner and begins to ingnite the mo that will attract the five star players annually.
I sent the N&O link to my UNX brother-in-law. I love being on offense again.
Thomas said Sunday from Greensboro. “I love the coaches . . .”
Thomas said. “I really like the coaches.”