Wednesday BBall & Johnny Thomas Bytes

07-08 Basketball General NCS Basketball54

In the midst of the Wolfpack’s 9th straight loss on the gridiron this weekend, we flippantly made reference to the start of basketball season. With that said, we should probably not ignore some of the relevant roundball issues:

* Let me start by thanking 850TheBuzz for highlighting what we all know related to the recent rash of injuries in Raleigh. (There is a lot more re: Johnny Thomas below). If you lived in Charlotte, you’d have no idea that NC State players like Toney Baker, Anthony Hill and DeMario Pressley were hurt. Last Saturday morning’s Charlotte Observer did not make a SINGLE reference to DeMario Pressley’s injury or Alan Michael-Cash’s absence prior to the Pack’s big game with Boston College despite the Friday afternoon announcement of Pressley’s injury.

* Wake Forest continues to pare down their roster with their 4th transfer this offseason. Ouch. Skip Prosser’s tragic passing is completely unrelated to the exodus, but it will insulate the Wake program from public criticism of over-recruiting and running off players to make room for more talented high school recruits.

* Speaking of UMass^…may I please offer up a suggestion the Quintin Jackson (bio) and the Wolfpack Basketball program. Can we PLEASE schedule some games with UMass in the near future? One of the major impacts of the Les Robinson/Herb Sendek era was that NC State’s series record with a lot of lesser programs was significantly negatively impacted with losses that pull down our program. I know that this is relatively insignificant, but it is something for fans to note. Robinson had the misfortune of losing to the best UMass teams in the program’s history. Sendek, with his MISERABLE out of conference trend, managed to lose to a lesser UMass teams in both Amherst AND in Raleigh (in an inexcusable loss). With this said…it sure would be nice to get some of these wins back against programs recognizable names that we should clearly compare more favorably in head-to-head competition.

* You want to talk NC State Basketball with numbers and stats? Then you need to click here and go to your heart’s content.

* Sports Illustrated featured an inspirational piece on Coach Kay Yow that we have to link here.

* Andy Katz is calling Herb Sendek’s Arizona State squad a “legitimate NCAA Tournament contender” this season. (Link) I am sure that Sendek cannot be happy that Katz, or anyone, would dare to heap any expectations on his squad; ESPECIALLY before his sixth year in the job. This link it full of interesting comments that ESPNINsider’s will enjoy. Just to wet your whistle…does anything here sound familiar?

“We became a pain in the ass to play,” said second-year coach Herb Sendek. “We played hard, we became a very good defensive team. Our struggles were on the other end of the floor. We didn’t make enough shots to give ourselves any room for error. We had to pitch shutouts.”

* The news of Johnny Thomas’ season ending injury has now hit the national wires.. Any injury to any player – no matter what uniform they wear – is a tragedy. This injury to Thomas’ knee is particularly nerve racking due to Thomas’ extreme athleticism as evidenced by his recently measured 43.5 inch vertical leap. Evidently, JT was turning heads with better-than-expected basketball skills since arriving in Raleigh and those around the team expected him to earn more playing time than was originally projected. Ultimately, however, if there is a year for JT to have to redshirt then this is the best of them as the Wolfpack has plenty of help on the wing with Fells, Grant, Marques Johnson, Dennis Horner and even Brandon Costner.

* 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.”

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07-08 Basketball General NCS Basketball

54 Responses to Wednesday BBall & Johnny Thomas Bytes

  1. Rick 09/13/2007 at 8:59 AM #

    I was wondering about his injury, It sounded like the cartlige was gone from his knee and what someone posted confirmed that. Hopefully the cadaver parts will work (it is amazing what they can do today).

  2. MadWolf92 09/13/2007 at 9:21 AM #

    I’m sure that all this Sendek commentary is still all somehow “really about Lee Fowler”.

  3. RickJ 09/13/2007 at 9:25 AM #

    The use and spacing of 13 scholarships is one of the most difficult processes in developing a big time program. It seems to me there are two conflicting factors in play:

    1. How do you keep 13 scholarship players happy? At the end of V’s tenure, he had gone to using less than the 13 allowed. I heard him say at a Wolfpack Club meeting something like – “We can’t keep 13 players happy.” Kids want to play or at least think they are going to be playing the next year. Duke has pretty consistently stayed under the 13 limit under K.

    2. If you use less than 13, do you end short on personnel? Injuries, suspensions, transfers, unexpected NBA defections (Josh Powell & Chris Paul are good examples) are going to take place. Last spring we were talking about being over the 13 limit for this year. Guess what; at best we will start the year with 10 scholarship players with another becoming eligible in the second semester (Johnson).

    Injuries in basketball are part of the landscape but every year multiple teams in the ACC manage to go the whole year without a major injury or losing someone at the end of the year when it counts the most. It has been over a decade since we’ve managed to have this good fortune.

  4. packgrad93 09/13/2007 at 10:30 AM #

    Herb had some bad luck with injuries & unexpected departures. I was hoping those would end with the new staff. I guess one can just prepare for the worst & hope for the best. We should be 10-deep by the 2nd semester this year & a good mix of experience/frosh. Hopefully JT can recover 100% because we’ll need him at the 3 spot next season. I expect Fells to slide down to the 3 next year with JT & CJ Williams backing him up.

  5. Mike 09/13/2007 at 10:44 AM #

    Very interesting article on JT, in spite of the 1st grader who wrote it. Glad to see we are recruiting quality kids as well as players. I have said it before and I will say it again – I would much rather have quality people and lose some, then to have a bunch of jerks in trouble with the law who win the NCAA’s (side note, see Isiah Thomas). Only the best to speedy recovery JT.

  6. redfred2 09/13/2007 at 1:01 PM #

    “That’s frightening that his injury might end his career. Best of luck to him in his recovery”

    There’s that tendancy again, always leaning towards the worst outcome in every scenario. If I was a GAMBLING man I’d place my money on the most likely, the POSITIVE outcome, the 80 percent chance of a complete recovery.

  7. PackGirl 09/13/2007 at 2:08 PM #

    I wonder if the 20% chance for failiure is because they may not find a cadaver match? If so, I think someone (who’s not dead) should donate some cartilage. A true wolfpack fan would do this. I’d be willing to donate but I don’t think I have much knee cartilage left.

  8. Rick 09/13/2007 at 3:16 PM #

    Probably the 20% is if it will take or not.

  9. packgrad93 09/13/2007 at 3:40 PM #

    speaking of bball, our ’09 targets are VERY exciting. If we get all or most of them I smell nat’l championship.

  10. vtpackfan 09/13/2007 at 4:39 PM #

    Horner can play SF for us next season if Costner decides to try professional ball. I think it’s expecting too much of Williams or Thomas thinking they will be able to log a ton of quality minutes in the ACC.

  11. vtpackfan 09/13/2007 at 4:44 PM #

    Who of the ’09 recruits do you think will replace McCauley, Costner and Hickson? If Hickson is a one and done, and if we can’t replace him then we are not a whole lot better at recruiting then under Sendek.

  12. packgrad93 09/13/2007 at 4:45 PM #

    I don’t think Horner can guard the other team’s 3 at 6’8″, 220lbs. I think Fells is best suited for the job with MJ & Fergie at the 2.

  13. haze 09/13/2007 at 5:48 PM #

    ^ Horner will guard wing 3’s as well as Costner in a big line-up (probably a lot of zone) but I agree that neither is going to do a man-to-man match up with a talented WG that can shoot & penetrate. That’s Gavin/Fells this year and maybe Fells, Marques or CJ next year.

    ^^ If Costner & Hickson bolt, Tracy Smith and Horner will be the front court bridge to the 2009 class, keeping in mind that Ben will be here for the 08-09 season. Smith and Horner will both be very good.

  14. redfred2 09/13/2007 at 5:51 PM #

    vt, ??? I don’t quite understand what you’re implying in that second post?

    I, for one, don’t have any idea at all as to what to expect out MJ, but I am hoping that there is an offense that can free up a deadly three point shooter who really knows how to get the ball to the open man when the D starts concentrating and converging on him. I may be dreaming, and his quickness, both afoot and mentally, has to get on track with the college game, but I still believe that lights out shooter/uncanny passer could be Trevor Ferguson.

  15. redfred2 09/13/2007 at 6:20 PM #

    Costner has skills no doubt, and of course there will ALWAYS be those who say that any kid who has even the slightest chance of signing a professional contract are crazy not to, but unless he plays more aggressively throughout entire ballgames this season, then I think Costner needs more time playing on this level. Especially when it involves playing under a group of coaches who will definitely better his NBA future and inspire him to do more with his talent with just a little more time.

    Uh oh, did I just ring noah’s number?

  16. vtpackfan 09/13/2007 at 7:20 PM #

    I’m hoping your right rf2, and would hope the prospect of playing a college game with a deeper 3 point line could intice another year out of BC. It could help him seperate from others who thrive with dual inside/out games.
    I don’t know what to say about Fergie. He tries hard.

    Shocked if JJ Hickson is back after this year (baring unforeseen circumstance). When your coach is saying you’ve got things guys in the NBA don’t, than the writing is already on the wall just waiting for the ink to dry.

    One of the only reasons for the forced scholly on another PG late, IMO, was that the window of opportunity could be seen opening and closing very fast by this staff. They couldn’t let this one slip away by not having enough options at the point this year (MJ not avail until second semester). Now we have our sights set on a local prospect in John Wall for ’09, but with four PG’s already on the roster it will be a little crowded.

    Asking Horner and Smith to “bridge” the gap is priceless. What if McCauley gets in foul trouble of gets hurt. Spread offense? Big “lew” was always part project part safety net. Know I guess we’ll have to hope Harris’ kid can paly the post.

  17. Rick 09/14/2007 at 8:14 AM #

    “but I still believe that lights out shooter/uncanny passer could be Trevor Ferguson.’

    You have seen something I have not. If he could not get much playing time on a team that is 6 players deep then I cannot see him getting any on a team that is ten deep. Maybe he can improve to be the designated shooter but he has alot to do to get in that position.

  18. haze 09/14/2007 at 8:32 AM #

    ^ VT, I don’t understand why you think Horner and Smith won’t be quality frontcourt players? There is every indication that both guys will be good.

    Also, if you or anyone out there thinks that we are on the verge of a monotonic run to the top of the ACC, you’re most certainly wrong. We’re getting better very fast but there will still be up & down years. The more super recruits you land (e.g. Hickson, Noel Johnson, Favors…), the harder it will be to have that consistency (at least until you have a whole roster full). It’s guys like Horner, Ben, Fells & Tracy Smith (i.e. good and growing but not immediate pros) that are going to give us consistency.

  19. packbackr04 09/14/2007 at 10:28 AM #

    i agree with Haze wholeheartedly…. those role player type guys are the glue on teams… I dont think we will ever have a team with 10 Mcd’s all american kids like Carolina or Duke, State has never been like that… we are the blue collar team that has 1 or 2 blue chip players and the rest are role palyer guys.

  20. packgrad93 09/14/2007 at 11:01 AM #

    “State has never been like that… we are the blue collar team that has 1 or 2 blue chip players and the rest are role palyer guys.”

    We don’t want to be like unc & duke? what, we don’t want to be one of the best programs in the country? A program has to go after top prospects to consistently be a top program. Sid is doing just that.

    Horner & Smith are fine for the 4 spot, but I’m concerned about the 5. Next year JJ will probably bolt & leave only Ben. The next yr Ben leaves so hopefully we’ll get Favors & Kelly. Favors is probably one & done also if he comes here at all (he is the #1 player in the ’09 class).

    Not concerned with too many guards. Mayes & MJ are combos. Wall would be a huge get, not to mention we need to keep the top players in Raleigh to stay in Raleigh.

  21. TNCSU 09/14/2007 at 11:42 AM #

    I think we’re still targeting a big man for the Class of ’08, but we’re not advertising who that is. Since Big Lew will not be playing for us, we definitely will need a “big” in the ’09 class if we don’t get one in ’08. Depending on how well we do this year, and if Brandon and J.J. stay, we would be loaded with talent next year – only losing G.G. If Brandon and J.J. bolt, that means they’ve had great years — and that State has had a great year. I predict this will be our first trip back to the Elite Eight since 1989 – and if the team really gels, we could make it further. I’m forever the optimist.

  22. Luke12321 09/14/2007 at 12:16 PM #

    If we think we can get John Wall, then we must go after him! He is a top player. Our pg’s will be Javi (Jr) MJ (Sr) and Degand (Sr). If Wall thinks cannot beat out any of these guys, then we either have a damn good PG at the time or he is low in confidence and I wouldn’t want him if that is the case. It is hard to plan what will happen two or three years down the road. You just got to get the players that are going to help you get to the top. Next year we should be very good. For long term purposes, holding off on Javi Gonzo would maybe of seemed logic. When you have a front court that has two potential NBA prospect for next year and a hard-nose quality guy, a versatile senior SF, a SG that you think could be the best player on the team if he would just focus on every play, what do you do? You get as many pg’s as you can to try to find a solution to get your team to the next level!

  23. redfred2 09/14/2007 at 1:00 PM #

    It’s definitely a tight wire act, but I totally agree with what whoever??? said earlier about the “glue”. A program is better off by having older and experienced players on the roster versus annually depending on the next wave of one and doners. Especially with this rush to the next level mentality that abounds everywhere nowdays, I’d still think that you stand a better chance with players who have been around at least long enough to learn to love the university and what it’s all about. They know exactly what and who they’re playing for, and they play harder and smarter because of it.

  24. TNCSU 09/14/2007 at 1:04 PM #

    I think Javi could be a “diamond in the rough”. He wasn’t highly recruited right away, but knows how to feed it to the bigs, and he makes his team better. Who knows, he may go early — we’ve never seen him play on minute of college ball, so it’s just too early to tell, but if he were to lead our team to the Final Four or something “crazy” like that (as a Freshman), you just never know. If we could keep him for all four years with JJ (I know he’ll never stay for all 4), Tracy Smith and JT, this could be a class we talk about for years to come. Regardless, I do agree that we still should pursue Wall, as well as Johnson and Favors – man, that would be a sweet class of ’09.

  25. redfred2 09/14/2007 at 1:11 PM #

    I know, as far as what I said about Fergie earlier, I can’t really put my finger on exactly what I’m basing that feeling on. But for some reason I think he has skills and is the type of unorthodox player who can do some damage in spots when, and “IF”, he ever finds a comfort level on the collegiate level.

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