Tyrus Wayne Thomas (born August 17, 1986 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is an American professional basketball player who played one season of college basketball at LSU and is now an NBA player for the Chicago Bulls.
In high school, Thomas was only 5-9 as a freshman. He only played organized basketball in his junior and senior years and never really built up enough recruiting hype to be considered a top 100 prospect. As a junior he was a mere 6-6 and 190 pounds, and when he officially committed to LSU they did not initially have a scholarship for him. One later opened up when a JUCO recruit was kicked off his team and his scholarship offer was rescinded. Thomas grew to 6-7 ½, 200 pounds as a high school senior, and averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks per game, good enough only for the all-second team in Louisiana.
In the 2005-2006 season, Thomas was a redshirt freshman and moved into the starting lineup as a power forward. Because of his leaping ability, Thomas developed a reputation as an outstanding shot blocker, rebounder, and dunker during his time at LSU. On the year, Thomas averaged 12.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.1 blocks in 26 minutes per game on over 60% shooting from the field.
Thomas played in the SEC. His team won their conference with a 14-2 record, and then lost to Florida in the semifinals of the SEC tournament with Thomas out resting his ankle for the NCAA tournament. LSU also played a moderately difficult out-of-conference schedule, going on the road to play against teams like West Virginia, Cincinnati, Ohio State and UConn. The UConn game was Thomas's coming out party at the national level, scoring 15 points with 13 rebounds and 7 blocks against arguably the best front-court in the nation on their home floor on national television.
2006 NCAA Tournament
Thomas came into the 2006 NCAA Tournament still recovering from a sprained ankle suffered in the February 25 game against Kentucky that caused him to miss LSU's last two regular season games and the SEC Tournament. However the injury did not hamper him as he continued the pattern of the regular season, his performances in the 2006 NCAA Tournament improved with every passing game as #4 seed LSU advanced to their first Final Four since 1986. His minutes were somewhat limited by the injury in the 1st round game against #13 seed Iona and the 2nd round game against #12 seed Texas A&M but he was back to form by LSU's Atlanta Regional Semifinal (Sweet 16) matchup against perennial power and overall #1 seed Duke. In the Duke game, Thomas scored 9 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked 5 shots despite being limited to 25 minutes due to early foul trouble as LSU held Duke to a 27.7% field goal percentage and only 54 points, the school's lowest score since 1996. Thomas was even more dominant in the Regional Final (Elite Eight) win against #2 seed Texas, scoring 21 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and blocking 3 shots. These performances earned Thomas the Atlanta Regional's Most Valuable Player award.
On April 17th, 2006, Thomas announced his intention to enter the NBA Draft, and signed with an agent, removing his college eligibility. On June 28th, 2006, Thomas was drafted fourth overall in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. Thomas was then traded along with Viktor Khryapa to the Chicago Bulls for the number 2 pick LaMarcus Aldridge.
Thomas made his regular season debut against the Miami Heat on October 31, scoring 4 points, while grabbing 5 rebounds and blocking 2 shots. One of his blocks was against fellow LSU alum, current Heat center Shaquille O'Neal. In the game, Thomas had his nose broken by Heat player James Posey. While going up for a rebound, Posey's forearm smashed against Thomas's nose, breaking it.
It was announced on February 5th, 2007 that Thomas would participate in the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk Contest. He would be the first Bulls participant since Scottie Pippen entered the contest in 1990. Thomas stated that he only wants to participate for the money and was subsequently fined $10,000 by Bulls General Manager John Paxson. Thomas will follow his plan to donate any winnings to his former high school.
Source : Wikipedia
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