Recruiting Report: Cam Thomas (2020)
At the Oak Hill vs. Massanutten scrimmage I went to, both teams looked very different from last year. One thing that has remained the same for Oak Hill however is they return senior Cam Thomas, one of the top scorers in the country who led the EYBL in scoring with Boo Williams this past summer.
Thomas is widely regarded as one of the top scorers in the country, and he didn’t disappoint in Floyd as he filled it up to the tune of 39 points, scoring 24 in the first half, and would have had a chance at possibly scoring 50 if he didn’t sit out a good chunk of the second half.
His smoothness as a scorer is something you see comes naturally and with hard work, as he’s able to score it from all three levels and has terrific footwork that allows him to create space and get his shot off in one-on-one situations. He gets hot quickly and can ring off a ton of points in a row, and that’s exactly what happened in that game.
“I found a good rhythm early, I hit my first three and I knew it would be a good game after that,” he said. “I’m expecting us to have a good year, I’m taking on more of a leadership role and I’m excited to do that, so I think we’re going to have a great year.”
Leadership was something that Thomas continued to come back on when I asked him about what was different this year from last year. Last season he played alongside the top point guard in the country in Cole Anthony who is now a freshman at UNC and one of the top bigs in Kofi Cockburn who is now at Illinois, and this year while he has some great talent around him he’s the most experienced returner.
“This year I’m being more of a leader and I’ve improved on that. I have to talk a lot of new guys through things and help them learn the plays. I think I improved my all-around game, especially in rebounding and jumping passing lanes, getting steals and things like that. I think I’ve just improved all around.”
With his scoring ability, it’s no surprise to see the long list of colleges who made Thomas a priority including Kansas, Auburn, UCONN, LSU, UCLA and Oregon among others. Thomas recently took official visits to UCLA and LSU, and says that he doesn’t plan on visiting anyone else moving forward.
Thomas claims that the he enjoyed both of the visits, and will be moving forward with those two as his favorites.
“They both were great, they’re both pretty much pitching the same thing to me. Both are great programs, LSU on the come up and UCLA is such a storied program. Neither one of them really stood out from each other, but both were great.”
While he knows that it’s coming down to those two, he says he is no rush to make a commitment and will “wait until the time is right and he feels comfortable with his decision.” Whenever he does make his decision, he feels like he’ll be able to step right in and help his team from day one.
“I think I’ll bring a winning mentality to either of those programs. I think I can bring three level scoring and just a dependable option, someone coach can depend on to put the ball in my hands from day one.”
Thomas and Oak Hill will play one of the toughest and longest schedules in the country, but if there’s one thing for sure it’s that he’ll bring it every day and score a lot of points. If you get the chance to watch them live, I would highly recommend it.