Sebastian Thomas Is Back at URI and Better Than Ever - James Malachowski

Sebastian Thomas Is Back at URI and Better Than Ever - James Malachowski

He put his thumbs to his fingertips to form circles with his hands and held them up to his eyes like binoculars as he turned and ran up the court to get back on defense. From outside the three-point line, Sebastian Thomas had just threaded a pass through a maze of players to a teammate under the basket for two easy points. The open shot was easy, but the pass was anything but. It took vision and creativity, and Thomas has both. His opponents did not object to his momentary celebration as the pass caught them off guard and was a thing of beauty.

 

Sebastian Thomas returns to URI

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Thomas is the local kid who starred at Bishop-Hendricken and started at URI, left for Albany University for a year, and then returned to the Rams. He has come back as a different player. When you meet Thomas, he is surprisingly slender, even after gaining weight and adding muscle in the past year. Off the court, he is unassuming, respectful, and polite.

On the court, he is a different person. He plays with passion and flies up and down the court. He takes charge of the team, shouting out and pointing out instructions. He epitomizes the saying, “he’s the straw that stirs the drink.”

 

Miller, “Thomas has the keys to the car”

URI coach Archie Miller has said, “We are a different team when Sebastian is on the court. He has the keys to the car and does a great job with it.”

After playing his fourth game this season at the Ryan Center, Thomas was asked how he felt compared to the previous time he was here. Thomas responded, “I was a little nervous the first two years I was here. I feel very confident now.”  

Miller echoes this, saying, “Sebastian has come full circle in terms of confidence. He is now fearless, very fearless, and a much better shooter.”

You can see the confidence in his game as Thomas plays with flare. He will throw a long underhand pass, a sidearm pass, or a long bounce pass through the middle. A little showboating has started to appear, along with a brief, fun, celebratory gesture now and again.

 

Thomas is a self-made player

Miller sings Thomas’ praises. “First and foremost, Sebastian is a self-made player. No coach can sit there and take credit for him. Where he was two years ago when I met him compared to where he was when he decided to make a change, he was not the same person.”

Miller continued, “He went out; he bet on himself. He played ferociously last year to prove himself, and he came back confident, hardened, and older. The bottom line with him is there is not very much you can say to bother him; there is not very much you can do to bother him. He deserves a ton of credit for not only the maturity and getting better but also for going out there and earning things. He went out there, and he performed, and we were very fortunate to have the opportunity to get him back because he is a very good player. At this stage, he is a grown-up.”

 

Thomas putting up strong stats

The 6’1” Thomas grew up in Providence and attended Bishop Hendricken High School. After two years at URI, he transferred to Albany University and played there for one year. At Albany, he had a breakout season averaging just under 20 points per game.

Now, in his senior year, Thomas is leading the Rams in scoring at 16.5 PPG and assists at 8.3 per game. In the four games he has played, he has 35 assists and only 6 turnovers. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.83 puts him in the top 20 in the country.

Fox Sports does an “Advanced Stats” analysis, and during his first two years at URI, for “Offensive Efficiency” Thomas scored in the high 80’s. At Albany, his rating improved to 110. This year his Offensive Rating has shot up to 140.

Thomas is averaging 31 minutes per game, which is by far the most on the team. When Miller was asked if Thomas could play for 40 minutes, he said, “Yeah, no doubt. He could probably play 80 minutes.”  

 

Building a legacy

Few players have left a program, played elsewhere, and returned to their original school. Commenting on this, Miller said, “I didn’t let him come back; I wanted him back. We reached out to him.”

With unlimited transfer ability, college athletes are increasingly transient, so they do not develop as deep of a connection with the fan base as they did in the past. They don’t develop the same sense of community or build the type of legacy you can over four years.

Thomas, however, is a player who can develop a deep connection to the school, the fans, and the community. He left for greener pastures, and things were good there. At Albany he was the BMOC, becoming a team leader and conference scoring champion. But he came back. He returned to URI, and Rhody fans appreciate that. Thomas is a Rhode Islander and wants to walk across the grass on the Quad during graduation.

 

Miller’s offensive requires a talented point guard

In his playing days, Archie Miller was a point guard at North Carolina State playing in the ACC. Miller’s strategy as a coach is to play a fast-paced game using a transition offensive to push the ball, creating a pace that requires players to quickly get up the court, not allowing the defense to get set, which creates breakdowns. This offensive approach depends on a quick, tireless, clever point guard. Miller has found his ideal point guard in Thomas.

Thomas continually sprints up the court at full speed. Adeptly handling the ball and leading the attack. His teammates know they must run down the court as fast as possible because Thomas will feed them a pass for an easy bucket if they get open.

 

Is he the “Package”?

The Rams are 5-0, but Thomas did not play in one game while resting a bruised knee. It’s a small sample, but so far, it looks like Thomas is the package, as he has the talent, leadership skills, mental toughness, and maturity to be very successful.

In response to a non-basketball question geared toward learning something about Thomas as a person, he was asked about his ink and what tattoo was particularly special to him. Thomas responded, “Yeah, I got my grandmother’s, my mom’s, and my little sister’s names on my chest. I love them; they are the three women in my life who helped me and made me the person I am today. Every time I go out there, I try and make them proud of me.

After hearing that answer, I do believe he is the package!