Thomas Helping HS Team Change Into Winner

Oh how times change. After only winning four games last year, Tyrus Thomas and his McKinley HS (LA) team has changed. And changed big. After only winning four games last season, they are now sitting 23-6 on the year and people in Baton Rouge are taking notice. So are the likes of some major programs.

The 6-foot-8, 175 pound forward, who is averaging 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four blocks a game, is one of the six players on the McKinley roster that is averaging double-digit points. The unsigned senior says the mindset of the team has completely changed after last year’s disappointing showing on the court.

“We have a new coach this year and we all realized that we needed to change things up,” Thomas said. “At the beginning of the year we all sat down and talked about what we needed to do. It’s not a good feeling to lose that many games. People don’t like to talk about a team that loses.”

As one of the top teams in Louisiana, Thomas says the community and the state is starting to come around.

“Now they are talking,” Thomas said. “Everybody is our biggest fan.”

Playing on a team with a high-octane offense, Thomas says he is just as happy playing the distributor role rather than “getting his”. His five assists per game is tops amongst big men in his region, he says.

“I’m not the primary scorer. People send double and triple teams at me all the time because, how do I say this without being too selfish…because everyone knows that I’m the go-to guy. So this year, I’ve really worked on passing the ball. Maybe that’s why my assist numbers are up,” Thomas said. “I’m not a selfish player at all. I would be just as fine scoring eight points and having 20 assists. I’ll sacrifice for my team everyday.”

After showing his versatile skills over the summer time, several schools can into the recruiting picture for Thomas’s services. The forward took a visit to Virginia Tech before school began. With his continued growth as a complete player, Thomas has seen a couple new schools jump into the picture.

“I don’t really pay much attention to who is out there in the stands watching me play,” Thomas said. “But I do know that Miami, LSU and Baylor have all been here this year.”

Thomas, who lives just minutes away from the LSU campus, is also considering Penn State, Oregon State, Western Kentucky and Tulane.

“I’m putting the whole recruiting thing on hold for right now so I can just spend all of my time concentrating on the season. It takes the pressures off of me and just keeps me focused on winning,” Thomas said. “I’m just going to wait it out and see what happens.”

Thomas has also changed in his body style.

“I was actually playing the one but I had a huge growth spurt in between my 10th and 11th grade. I grew seven inches,” Thomas said. “I thought I was sick at one point. My mom was stunned. She’d buy me clothes but half to return them like three weeks later because I just kept growing.

“I’m not playing the big spot as much as people think. I’m thinking about playing more of the two or the three. But I’m still working on my post moves just in case I get a smaller defenders on me.”