Prospect Commitment Prediction: DeAndre Thomas
Editors Note: These predictions are not based on any inside information provided by coaches, players of the family of the prospects. It is simply what is stated, a prediction by myself as to where I believe they may end up. Enjoy!
Predicted Commitment: Samford, College of Charleston, Elon
Dark Horse Candidates: Mount St. Mary’s, UMass, Towson
Thomas’ recruitment picked up throughout the summer, going from a lot of low major schools to some as high as the A10 offering him. He sits with 14 total offers after recent offers from College of Charleston, Wagner and Norfolk State, and while he hasn’t cut a list he did tell me back in July that he wanted to make a decision around the time his senior season started.
The 6’4” combo guard showed this summer that he can play on and off the ball, and while he isn’t exactly the go-to, take over kind of scoring guy that others are he’s a jack-of-all-trades player that plays on hard both ends, brings energy to his team and can really fill it up in spurts. He hasn’t indicated much about what schools have the upper hand moving forward, but as we’ve said in these predictions it’s always fun to speculate!
First up in Samford, the school that has recruited Thomas the longest having offered all the way back in his sophomore season when he was still at Benedictine. He took an official visit there in August, and by all accounts he’s the number one player on their board and plan on giving him early playing time, possibly as a starter. College of Charleston of the CAA is a good fit for Thomas, as the conference is the perfect fit for tweener guards with high major athleticism and size for his position. While he holds a number of offers in that conference, C of C has some of the top notch facilities in the Colonial and it has the added benefit of being a lovely campus right on the beach. Elon is also in the CAA and according to his high school coach Thomas has already scheduled an official to the school. While there are many bigger schools in North Carolina, Elon plays a tough schedule, one where he could show that he can compete against the best of the best and wouldn’t have to wait forever for playing time either.
DeAndre Thomas had college coaches all over him this summer.In the dark horse candidates, first up is Mount St. Mary’s who has seen a lot of success in March under Head Coach Jamion Christian. A former assistant under Shaka Smart at VCU, Christian has a lot of ties to the Richmond area, and his style of play fits Thomas’ ability to play both guard positions and would give him a good chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. Next up is UMass, the school with the most history and in the biggest conference on the list. While they aren’t a top tier A10 school, they still play against multiple tournament teams, are in a big city in Boston with a lot of other colleges and have a great campus and atmosphere. Last, but certainly not least, is Towson, another CAA school that has had a ton of success in recruiting Virginia in the past. They have former IC Norcom guard Travis Ingram coming in as a freshman, and despite them being the same position they have had success with combo guards in the past as well.
Thomas’ recruitment is far from over, and it’s still unclear whether he’s going to make a decision before the season or wait it out and see if he gets more schools involved. While these six are in a good position, there’s still in state schools such as JMU, ODU and William & Mary involved, all of whom would want the Richmond based guard to stay close to home and come play for them. He’s slated to be the guy at Millwood this season, and if he decides to wait and has a big senior season he could see even more schools jump in the mix.