It’s true. We won’t be playing against DeAndre Thomas next year.

He’ll be playing Juco for Chipola College of Florida

Thomas, a 6-7 post who originally signed to play at the University of Missouri, is a big time talent. He is a true space-eater inside who has the ability to score at will close to the basket. Thomas also has a soft touch on jumper which allows him to step out, and drop mid-range jumpers as well.

Thomas will be a strong player wherever he ends up. Given rumblings of the last few months, I don’t think this is a surprise, though.

Sometimes a bit of news needs no further comment from me. This is one of those times:

Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has learned that although 6′7 manchild DeAndre Thomas did achieve a qualifying test score on his ACT exam, he fell short with respect to meeting core requirements and as a result will be ineligible to play as a freshman next season at the University of Missouri. Rumors have surfaced that Thomas’ destination next season could be the newly formed Boys To Men Math and English Academy in Chicago, which will be coached by Loren Jackson, the former coach at Chicago’s Julian High School. However, at the present time nothing is concrete and there has been no official announcement.

hat tip to “kcjcjhawk” at the Slant

DeAndre, DeAndre, why did you have to make it personal?

“Illinois stopped calling me and it was like Kansas put me on hold to see if one of their players was transferring. Now, it’s all about payback, because I get to play against both of them.”

I was really looking forward to DeAndre Thomas. I was looking for a way we could get him to be a Jayhawk. And then kid’s gotta go and say something stupid like that. Yes, folks, DeAndre Thomas, who just weeks ago looked set to be a Jayhawk, is now committing to the University of Missouri. A bad move, we all know, made worse by the gratuitous loud-mouthing about payback.

For the record, KU didn’t have a scholarship for you DeAndre, so the only option we had was to see if someone transferred. I apologize if that comes off as a diss, but for crying out loud, there was very little that could be done outside of forcing someone out. Moody has paid his own way for years and I think he deserves a little payback for that himself.

You could have made your career at Mizzou a little easier by not calling out two rivals who have beaten you senseless time after time for the last five years. Now you’ll be wearing a big target on your back whenever you enter Lawrence, KS or Champaign, IL. Like I said, I was pulling for you, but man, you didn’t help yourself at all.

See you next year and best of luck at Mizzou.

As the dust settles, I’m glad Roy won. I don’t think I’m one of these Kansas fans that’s embittered and hurt that he left KU and wishes pain and suffering on him and his from this day forward. Truth be told, I don’t think there are a lot of those fans floating around. I’m a KU fan who didn’t like the fact that Roy left under the circumstances that he did, going to a UNC which dropped Matt Doherty as if on purpose just before the 2003 Final Four to put more pressure on Roy. I was disappointed that he took Matt’s job and I’m convinced that Matt could have kept his job had not Roy made some sort of hint to the effect that he was unhappy at Kansas under Al Bohl and that he was regretting his decision. He’s at a rival school now and that’s about all I feel. Except I was glad that he got his title out of the way and, indeed, as I said last night, I hope it was worth it.

In terms of basketball, it was an excellent game. Ken Pomeroy provides some interesting facts:

The only time a team shot fewer free throws in the championship game was Dartmouth in 1944!! It was also the most threes shot in finals history. But considering there have only been 19 championship games played with a three-point line, that doesn’t put the feat in proper perspective. It was the fourth-most threes shot in any tournament contest - a total of 1,202 games. Luther Head shot 16 threes on his own, equaling the UNC team attempts and breaking the individual finals record by three.

Read Ken’s summation. It’s quite good.

My question is this: Will Weber and the Illini recover? His team was made up of 90%+ of Bill Self’s recruits (in terms of scoring..ok if you’re going to be picky, I think Lon Kruger recruited one of them) and while they had a great year, they didn’t win. They lost nearly all the good recruits in Illinois to other teams. They will probably pick up DeAndre Thomas now that it appears that the scholarship I thought was going to him is going to Chris Moody, and I guarantee he’ll be a strong player for them. But otherwise, the shopping list doesn’t appear to be as robust as what is already in the cupboard.

Maybe you have heard of DeAndre Thomas. Maybe you haven’t. You will know his name in the next 30 days, however, if I’m right. I think the beefy Chicago product will be donning the Crimson and Blue next year. He is planning a visit here in the next few weeks and if the dice roll as I think they will, he’ll be the fourth player in this years’ recruiting class.

He’s not listed among the top recruits in most of the recruiting services, but he’s no less a player for that. You see, he lost upwards of 30 pounds this season and became the Chicagoland player of the year in doing so (over the much-celebrated Julian Wright, who did win Mr Basketball in Illinois and UNC McDAA Bobby Frasor). He’s a menace down low and at 6′8″ 270 pounds, he’s basically immovable. He’s blessed with good hands and is an excellent rebounder. And if it makes you feel any better, he was named AA All-State along with Julian Wright and Bobby Frasor (UNC). Says that article of Thomas:

Thomas, a 6-8 center, is regarded by many as the state’s most dominant post player. He averaged 22 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Illinois and Kansas are among the schools recruiting Thomas.

I think Galindo will transfer, and I think Thomas will be his replacement, though he’ll fill a completely different position.

Julian Wright was also named to the All-State team. I assume you know a little more about him. If you don’t, just do a Phog Blog search for Julian Wright and you’ll find some info. You will also be amazed if you watch the McDonald’s highlight video. There’s an article here about his winning Mr. Basketball for Illinois. Congratulations Julian.