K-State should welcome the newest member of its backcourt to the floor on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn when they take on Tulane. Point guard Jevon Thomas is expected to make his first appearance of the season after becoming eligible on December 21st as a mid-year enrollee.
Thomas was arguably the most highly recruited member of K-State’s 2013 recruiting class that includes current leading scorer Marcus Foster. He was once a four-star recruit on Rivals.com and was 87th overall in the Rivals.com top 150 for the class of 2012 before reclassifying to the class of 2013. Thomas was committed to both Dayton and St. John’s before landing with the Wildcats.
He hasn’t been allowed any practice time with the team this semester due to NCAA rules while awaiting his time to shine in Manhattan.
“The last 10 months have been kind of rough,” Thomas said in a press release. “I have had my ups and downs especially with the start of the season and seeing my teammates out playing games and not being able to be there. I would go to the Rec early in the morning when no one was there and work out. I would have a student manager or another friend come rebound for me.”
Once Thomas gets fully integrated in K-State’s offense, Will Spradling should see more time off the ball. That is a role that Spradling has been more comfortable with during his career. How long will it take Thomas to get to that point?
“I think that’s up to Coach Weber,” Thomas said. “I feel I can be an impact on the game regardless of the amount of minutes I play. I will give it some time, but I’m a quick learner. I know with the amount of time that I have spent with the guys, I know what the coaching staff wants and what they don’t want.”
