Men’s Basketball – Beyond his years: UL’s Thomas making a quick impact

Men’s Basketball – Beyond his years: UL’s Thomas making a quick impact

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • January 19, 2011

Even before J.J. Thomas grew a full-blown beard, he heard the whispers about his real age as a youngster growing up in Opelousas.

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As a kid people always joked about my age," said a smiling Thomas, now a freshman on the UL men’s basketball team. "I’ve always looked older for my age. Even when I was playing Biddy Basketball, people always said that they needed to check my birth certificate."

His recent production for the Ragin’ Cajuns (3-14), who play host to Centenary (0-19) at 7:05 tonight, has matched his mature appearance.

After missing the season’s first four games while recovering from a bout with mononucleosis, Thomas has worked his way back into shape and established himself as one of the top young players in the Sun Belt Conference. He posted back-to-back double-doubles last week and is tied for the team lead and is 15th in the league in rebounding (5.5 per game) while averaging eight points per game. In league games, the 6-foot-5 guard/forward is tied for eighth in the conference in rebounding (7.2 per game) and is averaging 8.7 points a night.

Thomas, whose mother never allowed him to grow out his facial hair in high school, has provided some encouragement with his gritty play and nonstop hustle during a frustrating first season for UL coach Bob Marlin. He led the Cajuns with 16 points and 10 rebounds in last Thursday’s 74-65 loss at Arkansas State. That was followed with a game-high 16 rebounds and 11 points during a 73-68 loss to Arkansas-Little Rock last Saturday.

His 16 rebounds were the most by a Cajun since Valentino Hart’s 17 against Tennessee on Nov. 27, 2006.

"He played extremely well for us in both of those games (last week)," Marlin said. "He really stepped up, and that’s encouraging for the future."

Thomas had a few twists and turns along the way before ending up at UL.

Born and raised in Opelousas, Thomas moved to Baton Rouge prior to his freshman year of high school when his mother changed jobs.

He attended Parkview Baptist for one year before transferring to Scotlandville, where his basketball future became bright. His prep career culminated last season with him being named Louisiana’s Class 5A Most Outstanding Player for the state runner-up Hornets after averaging 24.2 points and 14.5 rebounds per game.

Thomas, who also made the 2010 Orlando Sentinel’s All-Southern team, fell just short of winning a state championship with a 55-54 loss to Brother Martin in the Class 5A final last March in the Cajundome.

He had signed the previous fall with Stephen F. Austin but requested a release after his senior season when his primary recruiter, Ulric Maligi, left for a job at the University of Houston.

Rutgers wanted Thomas to work on developing his perimeter skills for a year in prep school, but he eventually got his release just before the start of the fall semester and enrolled at UL.

The previous fall, Thomas had been recruited by a number of Southland Conference teams, including Marlin’s previous school, Sam Houston State.

That connection played a role in Thomas’ decision to come back closer to home.

"Coach Marlin was real straight forward and had recruited me while at Sam Houston State, so I already knew him," Thomas said. "I was comfortable being closer to home because all of my family and friends could continue to see me play."

Following what Marlin described as a "great" performance in preseason workouts, Thomas found out that he had mono only a few days prior to UL’s season opener. He finally made his collegiate debut on Nov. 23 in a loss at Houston and has showed some flashes of his potential during a trying season for the program.

Thomas has led the Cajuns in rebounding five times this season and has been the team’s top scorer in four games.

In December he scored 16 points at Tulane, had 15 points and 11 rebounds against Texas College, grabbed nine rebounds at New Mexico State and added 11 points and seven rebounds vs. Denver.

His numbers dipped to start 2011 before he bounced back with two strong efforts last week.

"He’s meant a lot to our team, and he plays with energy," Marlin said. "Like a lot of freshmen, he’s been inconsistent at times, but he’s a competitor and competes every day at practice. That’s one of the reasons why he’s getting results in the games."

Freshman forward J.J. Thomas has produced two consecutive double-double efforts for UL.