#9 Jevon Thomas
6-0 170 Position PG
The question with Thomas has always been about his maturity. He's a very bright student when he applies himself but in HS he often 'acted up' and that turned many off. Even during his visit here during his rising senior year he showed that immaturity.
The word is he has since done a lot of growing up and was respected by his coach Bruce Weber at Kansas State who didn't want his starting PG to leave. But the one time St John's commit wanted to be closer to home and that spurred his decision to suit up at the Hall in 2016.
Strengths:
Thomas is the consummate playmaker. He is super quick with great end to end speed, terrific court vision, and an excellent handle. He changes his speeds quickly and is as dangerous going left as he is right. He has good bounce as well. Thomas has a great feel with the ball in his hands and is very crafty scoring himself with floaters and wrong footed lay-ups driving to the rim. Defensively, he's very active with his hands being as quick as his feet. Thomas has worked on developing a consistent jumper from the perimeter when left unchecked, but that still needs some work.
Weaknesses:
The major thing Thomas is missing to be a high quality Big East guard is his body as he is very lean, especially through his chest. He can struggle to play through contact at times and has a particularly hard-time when matched up with more powerful guards. While his jumper is also much improved he needs to continue to work on that area of his game.
Bottom Line:
The prototypical lead guard, Thomas is always attacking the defense as he has a full arsenal of tools at his disposal. He is quick as he is clever with the confidence, poise, and toughness to be a very talented point guard in the Big East if he plays within himself and doesn't try to do too much.
This coming year:
I have not seen Thomas play since the summer of his rising HS senior year.
I remember a very talented PG who was too quick for the opposition and was able to do whatever he wanted on the court. Often the D would back off him fearing penetration but even with that he had little trouble neglecting the jumper and driving to the tin for a basket or assist.
With more zone defenses being played in college Thomas has to continue to work on his jumper to keep defenses honest.
I also remember Thomas being a pain in the butt on the other side of the court. That should bode well if Willard, who is going back to his defensive roots is still here in the 2016/17 season.
Bottom line, right now Thomas is the only pure point on the team. He has a great chance to put himself in position to get a lot of minutes after his sit out year. To do that he must play a little smarter and not try and do too much on the court. In short stay in control. He also must continue to work on his long range shooting.
Hard to say now what kind of impact he'll have when he becomes eligible. But the talent is there and with hard work and an understanding of what his coach wants he certainly has the chance to be a quality contributor in the Big East.
6-0 170 Position PG
The question with Thomas has always been about his maturity. He's a very bright student when he applies himself but in HS he often 'acted up' and that turned many off. Even during his visit here during his rising senior year he showed that immaturity.
The word is he has since done a lot of growing up and was respected by his coach Bruce Weber at Kansas State who didn't want his starting PG to leave. But the one time St John's commit wanted to be closer to home and that spurred his decision to suit up at the Hall in 2016.
Strengths:
Thomas is the consummate playmaker. He is super quick with great end to end speed, terrific court vision, and an excellent handle. He changes his speeds quickly and is as dangerous going left as he is right. He has good bounce as well. Thomas has a great feel with the ball in his hands and is very crafty scoring himself with floaters and wrong footed lay-ups driving to the rim. Defensively, he's very active with his hands being as quick as his feet. Thomas has worked on developing a consistent jumper from the perimeter when left unchecked, but that still needs some work.
Weaknesses:
The major thing Thomas is missing to be a high quality Big East guard is his body as he is very lean, especially through his chest. He can struggle to play through contact at times and has a particularly hard-time when matched up with more powerful guards. While his jumper is also much improved he needs to continue to work on that area of his game.
Bottom Line:
The prototypical lead guard, Thomas is always attacking the defense as he has a full arsenal of tools at his disposal. He is quick as he is clever with the confidence, poise, and toughness to be a very talented point guard in the Big East if he plays within himself and doesn't try to do too much.
This coming year:
I have not seen Thomas play since the summer of his rising HS senior year.
I remember a very talented PG who was too quick for the opposition and was able to do whatever he wanted on the court. Often the D would back off him fearing penetration but even with that he had little trouble neglecting the jumper and driving to the tin for a basket or assist.
With more zone defenses being played in college Thomas has to continue to work on his jumper to keep defenses honest.
I also remember Thomas being a pain in the butt on the other side of the court. That should bode well if Willard, who is going back to his defensive roots is still here in the 2016/17 season.
Bottom line, right now Thomas is the only pure point on the team. He has a great chance to put himself in position to get a lot of minutes after his sit out year. To do that he must play a little smarter and not try and do too much on the court. In short stay in control. He also must continue to work on his long range shooting.
Hard to say now what kind of impact he'll have when he becomes eligible. But the talent is there and with hard work and an understanding of what his coach wants he certainly has the chance to be a quality contributor in the Big East.
