Tyrus Thomas: Talent Rich, Production Poor

Republished, with permission from The Chicago Sports Review

In his first on-court action since his suspension, Tyrus Thomas played just four minutes Sunday night against the Pistons. He didn't do much on the court, save a horrendous bounce pass to no one that went directly out of bounds. It was the type of mental hiccup that has infuriated Scott Skiles and Jim Boylan.

Yet, fans also saw the opposite side of the coin when Tyrus received a pass outside the three point line, just past the 11 minute mark of the second quarter. Facing up against his defender, Thomas did a between-the-legs-crossover, followed by a spin-o-rama before getting fouled as he barely missed a layup.

It was a display of the other-worldly athleticism GM John Paxson saw when he drafted Thomas, and was a play maybe only two or three other power forwards in the entire league could make.

To evaluate the young forward I thought it appropriate to take a look back into days gone by, to see what might appear on the yet unwritten pages of the book on Tyrus' NBA career.

Coming to LSU as an unheralded recruit on nobody's top 100 list, Thomas remained in obscurity his first year at school. A neck injury forced him to be a medical redshirt, and he only appeared in one preseason game. The next year he was a reserve for his first 11 games, but his time on the bench didn't last long.

After grabbing the starting spot at power forward, next to Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Thomas burst onto the national scene with authority. By January he was on NBA scout's radars, and Bulls GM John Paxson flew out to see him play against the Connecticut Huskies team that featured four future NBA first-round picks.

Matched up against a strong Huskies frontcourt of Hilton Armstrong and Josh Boone, Tyrus dominated in the nationally televised game. He scored 15 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and got an astounding 7 blocks, etching himself into the memories of college fans nationwide.

Not the least of which was Paxson, who said recalling the game:

"Every scout who left that game in Connecticut saw the same things I did. It's simple: His potential is the highest of any of the players out there."

It was a remarkable year for such an unknown entity, and Tyrus finished the year averaging 12.3 PPG, 9.2 RPG and 3.1 blocks per contest. He was the 2006 SEC Freshman of the Year, the 2006 SEC co-Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the Freshman All-America Team by Collegeinsider.com.

In true warrior form, Thomas played best with the most on the line, leading LSU on a surprising run all the way to their first Final Four since 1986. He was named the 2006 NCAA Atlanta Region Most Outstanding Player after a pair of all-world performances against Duke and Texas.

Against the Longhorns he was matched up against the player he was later traded for and to whom he will be eternally compared: LaMarcus Aldrdige. That night Thomas was by far the better player, holding LaMarcus to just 2-14 shooting, and putting up 21 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks himself.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?