Article 199: Thomas at tip of the iceberg

May 18, 2011

One of the next dominant interior players may come from the 2014 class. At 6-foot-6 and 195 pounds, Nathan Thomas of the Bellarmine Bells is just at the proverbial tip of his basketball potential iceberg. In a recent club event in Hayward, Thomas displayed his versatility for the Oakland Soldiers 15U team.

Joe Griggs is the Soldiers' 15U head coach. "Nate is tall for a young age. He has a huge passion for basketball and a strong desire to get better and work at getting better," said Griggs. "Nate has been working on his post moves and I have seen him really working on an up under move in practice. He is active around the basket. He gets his hand on the ball a lot, but need to improve on being able to corral the ball. Most of that comes from his lack of strength so far. I believe Nate has spent most of his basketball life so far playing against guys that were much shorter and much less athletic than he is. Therefore, he has never HAD to really work to get the ball because he was just so much bigger than everyone else. But now, he is learning that he has to start using that size and skill to compete at a high level."

Thomas considers himself to be finesse player because his length allows him to utilize moves such as an up-and-under and a jump hook to either get a foul or a good shot. He uses his jump hook to take advantage of his height and to not get blocked. He models his game after former Oakland Soldier Kyle Wiltjer because he is able to score inside the paint and also outside.

During this summer, Thomas will be working on his midrange jumper for the Soldiers but also will try to get some college exposure. He wants to play for a team that has outside shooting so that the court is spread out and that would put him in a great scoring position using post moves. He carries a 3.80 GPA and would like to major in engineering at a strong academic institution in a mild climate region of the United States.

"I believe Nate has the chance to play at the NCAA level," continued Griggs. "The one thing that stands in his way right now is how hard he is willing to work to get bigger and stronger. I believe Nate is a kid that if he puts his mind to something he is gonna stalk down that goal and blast past it."

Thomas hopes that his hard work will earn him a spot on the varsity team next year for Bellarmine. His team goals are to go undefeated in WCAL play and make a deep run in the playoffs. His older brother, Zac, is also a promising post player in the 2012 class who is still recovering from knee surgery that kept him out last year. Thomas would like to play with his older brother on varsity if possible. As of now, Thomas does not know his status on varsity for next year yet.

Griggs offers this about his protégé's non-basketball background: "Nate is a really nice guy. That may sound like a generic way of describing someone, but it's really the truth. He is just a flat out nice guy. I joke with him that he is too nice because it follows him onto the court where he needs to have a bit of a nasty streak to be a dominant big man. But for all of that he does work hard off the court. He is in the gym and he is working on his game. And that and only that is what is gonna get him and any other high school player better. Nate is a great student from what I know. He goes to one of the best academic schools in the bay area and I know his family strongly values his academic performance."

Regardless if Thomas is on varsity or not this upcoming year, he is just at the tip of the iceberg in terms of reaching his potential. Watch for Thomas to make that journey in San Jose this upcoming season for the Bells.