Hall of Fame
A terrific player for two seasons at Shawnee State, Thomas finished his career averaging a double-double (13.9 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game) with the Bears and led SSU in total blocks (148) and blocks per game (2.6) at the time of graduation.
Thomas' rebounding average is still the all-time leading average in program history, and the only average above 10 rebounds per contest in program history as well, while Thomas ranks eighth in program history in total rebounds (643).
Thomas, who was inducted in 2018, then began embarking on a prolific coaching career at Shawnee State, going 115-73 (61.2 percent winning percentage) while leading Shawnee State to a 21-11 overall record and the program's first-ever NAIA National Tournament berth in 2020, followed by a 31-2 overall record and the program's first-ever NAIA National Championship in the sport. Shawnee State boasted the top-ranked defense in the country in 2019-2020, followed by the second-ranked defense in the NAIA in 2020-2021.
In doing so, Thomas coached three NAIA All-Americans (Kyree Elder, James Jones, EJ Onu) with Jones earning NAIA National Tournament MVP honors and Onu, a four-year starter, breaking Thomas' career blocks and career blocks per game averages en route to becoming a 1,500-plus point scorer for Shawnee State as well.
