Making his way back

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Back in April, five-star big man Elijah Thomas suffered a tendon injury in a finger that required surgery. At last week's Reebok Breakout Camp, the rising senior made his return to the floor and he's hoping to be back to 100% soon.

Currently ranked No. 11 in the 2015 Rivals150, the 6-foot-9, 250 pounder from Lancaster (Texas) High was understandably a bit rusty. But, he was just happy to be back on the floor.

"It will take some time to be efficient like I am used to being," Thomas told Rivals.com. "But I'm just thankful to be out there playing again."

A big man who focuses on playing in the post and doing his damage around the rim, Thomas is a throwback. He plays a physical, skill based game and gets things done because he knows where to be and when and makes good decisions. A confident player, Thomas knows that he will usually be productive on the glass and as an interior scorer so he is focusing on leadership and playmaking.

"My biggest strength is trying to be a leader and a playmaker," said Thomas. "I'm more versatile than I used to be. I'm a little faster than before I got hurt. People get caught up with the points and rebounds, but I'm trying to focus on winning."

According to Thomas, he is planning to commit during the early signing period and he will start setting up visits in September. When he was injured, his recruiting slowed down a bit but he said that Oklahoma State (who he mentioned is likely to get his first visit), UNLV, Illinois, SMU, Memphis, Texas and USC never slowed down in their pursuit of him.

Thomas will return his focus to his recruitment soon, but this week he travels to Anaheim, Calif. with his Team Texas summer squad to compete in the Best of the Summer event. Next week, he'll travel to Las Vegas with Team Texas and he's looking to get his rhythm back.

"I think my overall thing is I have to finish like I used to," said Thomas. "I've worked on my dribbling when I could and I feel like I'm getting by people so I just need to work on finishing. A million dollar move with a two cent finish isn't going to cut it right now."

Eric Bossi is the national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.

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