Five-star big stays in Texas
Right up until the time five-star big man Elijah Thomas announced his decision on Tuesday afternoon, his college destination was a genuine mystery. That mystery has been solved, and Texas A&M now has the makings of a historic class.
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During a ceremony at Lancaster (Texas) High, the 6-foot-9 power forward who ranks No. 20 in the class of 2015 announced that he would be joining a loaded recruiting class engineered by Billy Kennedy and his staff.
Thomas broke down his decision to attend Texas A&M, joining a recruiting class that already includes No. 27 Tyler Davis, No. 32 D.J. Hogg and No. 65 Admon Gilder.
"First and foremost the academic side of things really opens up horizons that I like," Thomas told Rivals.com. "They allow their student athletes and students to have a major and three minors so you explore different things and learn so much that when you leave you will know a lot and be set up to have successful occupation.
"The athletic side of things they have been known as a football school. Me and the Fab Four, I think we can go there and make a lot of noise. We plan on being the top recruiting class and we feel like we can win a national championship in our first year. There are a lot of good returning players there and we feel like it is all set up."
A big and strong interior player, Thomas plays a skill based game. He gets and holds position, provides a strong target and is comfortable using soft touch to score over either shoulder and from a variety of angles. He is also a high level rebounder and brings lots of personality, both on and off the court, to the table.
"I feel that the way I plays with my heart and passion with all of us working as one the sky is the limit," said Thomas. "My role is going to be keeping my teammates straight and if their day is down giving them a laugh."
That the Aggies have been able to put together such a strong class says a lot about the work put in by Kennedy and his staff. At one point, Thomas had even cut A&M from his list but Kennedy never went away.
"When I first cut them from my list he just told me that he still believes in me and that he will support whatever I do," said Thomas. "He still came to my school and games and he showed that regardless he is going to support me and that stuck out."
With the addition of Thomas, Texas A&M's class will move to No. 2 nationally behind only Arizona when the team rankings are updated on Wednesday. Everything still needs to shake out on the floor, but the 2015 recruiting class has a chance to go down as one that A&M fans and coaches will remember for a long time to come.
"It is like the Fab Five and when they went to Michigan. They made it a powerhouse and we hope to do that here. We want to make history so we all decided to be a part of it."
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