timvp
10-18-2004, 03:40 PM
Doubting Thomas simply not his style
Ex-Schenectady star kept faith, gets shot with Spurs
By DAVID FILKINS
NEW YORK -- For once, the quiet kid had something to say. His message may have sounded crazy, but James Thomas was dead serious. He was going to play in the NBA.
No one was listening, and why would they? Thomas, 23, missed half his senior year at the University of Texas with three herniated disks in his back. He returned to the lineup and quarreled with head coach Rick Barnes while perfecting the art of bench warming.
After averaging 5.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in the regular season, Thomas hit rock bottom in this year's NCAA basketball tournament.
He went scoreless and had no rebounds in his final college game, a 79-71 loss to Xavier in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on March 26. The critics would have written Thomas off, except they forgot he even existed.
But that's only part of the James Thomas story. Another chapter unfolded Saturday when Thomas stepped on the floor at Madison Square Garden as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
The former Schenectady High School star scored two points and pulled down two rebounds in a 98-84 loss to the New York Knicks in the Spurs' first exhibition game.
Thomas likens his detractors who dismiss him after one bad year to people who read section Q of an encyclopedia and think they've learned all there is to know.
"I was the only one who thought this was going to happen," Thomas said before Saturday's game. "In sports you're going to have ups and downs. But from the time I picked up the ball at age 15, I knew this was going to happen. I just had to stay mentally strong."
Mental strength has been one of Thomas' defining characteristics. The other is his throwback style of play. He dives for loose balls and throws around his 6-foot-8, 240-pound body without regard to the bones and muscles therein. When he rebounds, he grabs at balls like a hungry cherry picker.
"It's not always pretty, but that's (Thomas') bread and butter," said Jim Hart, Thomas' former AAU coach, who made the trip from Albany to New York City for the game. "James has the type of game where he can do what he does even if he has the flu. That means hustling, playing tough defense and rebounding."
Those traits are what made Thomas a star at Schenectady High School and then for his first three years at Texas. As a junior in 2003, Thomas averaged a double-double. His 11 rebounds per game were in the top 10 in the NCAA. The leading rebounder in Texas history was NBA-bound until his dreadful senior year. "I've always stayed positive and kept my confidence," Thomas said. "Once you start to doubt yourself, that's the end. I just kept believing that I could play on this level."
Thomas earned a spot on the Spurs' preseason roster with an impressive showing in the NBA summer league. While he's back to his old self, there are no guarantees in Thomas' future. The Spurs signed him to a partially guaranteed contract last month, and his play in the preseason will determine if he makes the regular-season roster.
"James is ferocious on the boards and plays sort of a Dennis Rodman-like style," said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. "That's pretty impressive because Dennis was the best. When we see his carryover from practice to games, that will be the deciding factor."
For now, Thomas is just one of the guys. He even was subject to some rookie hazing. Spurs veteran Robert Horry demanded Thomas sit in the back of the plane on the ride from San Antonio to New York. Thomas of course obliged.
"Being in the NBA hasn't really hit me yet, like with any other rookie," Thomas said. "But I love the game and I think if you go out there and give your best effort, good things will happen."
It's an open question if Thomas will make the Spurs regular roster this year. Its answer is still being played out.
But stepping on the hallowed floor of Madison Square Garden in an NBA jersey was a good thing that happened to the kid whom everyone doubted.
Everyone, that is, except James Thomas.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=295790&category=SPORTS&BCCode=&newsdate=10/17/2004
Ex-Schenectady star kept faith, gets shot with Spurs
By DAVID FILKINS
NEW YORK -- For once, the quiet kid had something to say. His message may have sounded crazy, but James Thomas was dead serious. He was going to play in the NBA.
No one was listening, and why would they? Thomas, 23, missed half his senior year at the University of Texas with three herniated disks in his back. He returned to the lineup and quarreled with head coach Rick Barnes while perfecting the art of bench warming.
After averaging 5.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in the regular season, Thomas hit rock bottom in this year's NCAA basketball tournament.
He went scoreless and had no rebounds in his final college game, a 79-71 loss to Xavier in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on March 26. The critics would have written Thomas off, except they forgot he even existed.
But that's only part of the James Thomas story. Another chapter unfolded Saturday when Thomas stepped on the floor at Madison Square Garden as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
The former Schenectady High School star scored two points and pulled down two rebounds in a 98-84 loss to the New York Knicks in the Spurs' first exhibition game.
Thomas likens his detractors who dismiss him after one bad year to people who read section Q of an encyclopedia and think they've learned all there is to know.
"I was the only one who thought this was going to happen," Thomas said before Saturday's game. "In sports you're going to have ups and downs. But from the time I picked up the ball at age 15, I knew this was going to happen. I just had to stay mentally strong."
Mental strength has been one of Thomas' defining characteristics. The other is his throwback style of play. He dives for loose balls and throws around his 6-foot-8, 240-pound body without regard to the bones and muscles therein. When he rebounds, he grabs at balls like a hungry cherry picker.
"It's not always pretty, but that's (Thomas') bread and butter," said Jim Hart, Thomas' former AAU coach, who made the trip from Albany to New York City for the game. "James has the type of game where he can do what he does even if he has the flu. That means hustling, playing tough defense and rebounding."
Those traits are what made Thomas a star at Schenectady High School and then for his first three years at Texas. As a junior in 2003, Thomas averaged a double-double. His 11 rebounds per game were in the top 10 in the NCAA. The leading rebounder in Texas history was NBA-bound until his dreadful senior year. "I've always stayed positive and kept my confidence," Thomas said. "Once you start to doubt yourself, that's the end. I just kept believing that I could play on this level."
Thomas earned a spot on the Spurs' preseason roster with an impressive showing in the NBA summer league. While he's back to his old self, there are no guarantees in Thomas' future. The Spurs signed him to a partially guaranteed contract last month, and his play in the preseason will determine if he makes the regular-season roster.
"James is ferocious on the boards and plays sort of a Dennis Rodman-like style," said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. "That's pretty impressive because Dennis was the best. When we see his carryover from practice to games, that will be the deciding factor."
For now, Thomas is just one of the guys. He even was subject to some rookie hazing. Spurs veteran Robert Horry demanded Thomas sit in the back of the plane on the ride from San Antonio to New York. Thomas of course obliged.
"Being in the NBA hasn't really hit me yet, like with any other rookie," Thomas said. "But I love the game and I think if you go out there and give your best effort, good things will happen."
It's an open question if Thomas will make the Spurs regular roster this year. Its answer is still being played out.
But stepping on the hallowed floor of Madison Square Garden in an NBA jersey was a good thing that happened to the kid whom everyone doubted.
Everyone, that is, except James Thomas.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=295790&category=SPORTS&BCCode=&newsdate=10/17/2004