Thomas Signs With SEC School

With the coaching carousal spinning at it’s peak, the shift in recruiting has been felt in the class of 2004. For Louisiana forward Tyrus Thomas, it helped him make a decision on his future home. The 6-foot-8, 175-pound picked a school familiar to him and his family.

Thomas made his decision official today when his mother faxed over his letter of intent to nearby LSU. He won’t even have to worry about moving out of the same zip code for college.

“Sometimes I just feel like walking down there. It’s that close,” Thomas said. “My mom actually faxed (the letter of intent) but she could of hand delivered it.”

Thomas said he was down to Miami and LSU about a month ago but when the Hurricanes decided to let head coach Perry Clark go, the Louisiana forward made up his mind.

“My decision was pretty easy to make once Perry Clark was terminated from Miami (Fla.),” Thomas told RivalsHoops.com. “It was a whole lot easier to pick LSU once he was gone because he was the coach that was recruiting me the hardest. I didn’t want to go to a school where I didn’t know the coach.”

He is the third player to sign with the Tigers. Thomas joins fellow Louisiana prep stars Glen Davis and Garrett Temple in the incoming freshman class. The trio are quite familiar with each other and they expect that to show right away.

“We have all played with each other since we were like nine years old,” Thomas said. “The last couple of years I’ve been going down to the (LSU) student center and play pick up with a lot of the guys already there. So it’s not like I’m going somewhere that I don’t know anyone. There won’t really have to be a freshman year transition.”

“The LSU basketball program is excited about signing Tyrus Thomas," said LSU head basketball coach John Brady said in a press release announcing the signing.

"He is an athlete that can play a variety of positions -- he is mobile, is an outstanding shot blocker, runs the floor well and, he can score around the goal and on the perimeter along with having the ability to pass the ball. His biggest upside is the unlimited potential that he brings to our program.”