On the basketball court, the spectator will see athletes and then the occasional ATHLETE. Kyiron Thomas can be classified by the latter. At 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds, Thomas last measured his vertical jump at 38 inches matching Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant. As a reference, the average NBA player's vertical jump is 28 inches.
As a sophomore combination guard last year, Thomas was instrumental in helping the Sheldon High Huskies of the Sac-Joaquin Section attain a 28-6 record that ended with a loss to Newark 75-61 in the state playoffs. He averaged 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists for the Huskies. Sheldon High Coach Joey Rollings says, "Kyi is a High Flyer, plays above the rim, and is a physically strong player with great explosiveness when going to the rim."
Thomas started playing basketball in first grade for the Pocket Land Park (National Junior Basketball). This guard considers himself to be a slasher because he is quick and athletic. Thomas can get to the basket and score from anywhere on the court off of his dribble in a half court-set or in transition. He considers his game to be a blend of John Wall, Russell Westbrook, and Penny Hardaway because he combines the various ball handling skills, scoring abilities, and athleticism from each player.
Thomas considers his best move to be his in-between the legs behind the back-crossover dribble while his best skill would be his ability to explode to the basket. During the offseason, he works on his conditioning and mid-range jumper. Coach Rollings says, "Kyi can play point guard or shooting guard. He plays hard and plays to win. He is a team player and tries to make his teammates better."
As the No. 6 ranked player in the NorCalPreps.com 2012 boys basketball rankings, Thomas is early in his recruiting but has been communicating with Arizona, Arizona State, California, Nevada, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, UC Davis, USC, USF, Washington, and Washington State. He has made unofficial visits to Cal and USC but has no favorites yet. He has no geographic restriction for his college.
Coach Rollings says, "Once Kyi improves on his shooting and ball handling a little more, he is going to be a great player. His athletic ability puts him above most. He is a very nice person, who puts a lot of time into basketball and school work. He wants to get better and play at the next level."
"Kyi is a very polite young man, kind hearted, and respectful," continued Rollings. Thomas' humility is due to his upbringing. Thomas says, "My biggest non-sport adversity is growing up in a single parent family, having to be the man of the house, and being the main male role model for my younger sister. I handle this everyday by knowing that I have all the love and support that I'll ever need in those two no matter what."
His biggest basketball adversity was as a freshman when he tore a ligament in his hip and had to sit out the remainder of the season. He made the best of the situation by studying film of himself and analyzing how he can improve his game when he returned to the court. Going into his junior year, he plans to continue working hard and garner more attention from colleges. His team goal is to win state and he would not mind having a revenge game against Newark. The chances that Sheldon High will go far in the playoffs are high as Thomas will be teamed with Darius Nelson and Ramon Eaton, who are senior Huskies who have committed to UTEP and Pepperdine respectively.
Academically, Thomas has a 3.10 GPA and has not taken the SATs yet. He would like to major in Sports Medicine as his best subject English. Watch for Kyi to be flying sky high for the Huskies during this upcoming year.
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