Tyrus Thomas: Talent Rich, Production Poor

"He never stopped working... He's young, so his leadership skills aren't there yet, but his personality is so true, so encouraging, that he's definitely the kind of player whose devotion and effort rub off on teammates."

That work continued into this past off-season, where just because he didn't choose to work out at the Berto Center, didn't mean he was just sitting back sipping cocktails every afternoon. At the '07 summer league where he dominated, he told one reporter that he'd been working "seven days a week so far this offseason, often staying in the gym until he makes 700 jump shots a day."

Now clearly, as his college coach said, those leadership skills are not quite there yet, as his whole skipping practice episode proves. But it's been a really frustrating year for him.

After winning a spot in the starting lineup coming out of camp, Tyrus didn't dominate but certainly played well relative to his disappointing teammates in the midst of the their horrendous start. Through the first six games, he averaged 9.3 points, 7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and a steal per game.

Those aren't All-Star numbers by any means, but they are excellent signs of progress for a player so young. Nevertheless, Skiles effectively chose to blame Tyrus for the team's failure, as Thomas was the only starter Skiles benched in a doomed effort to shake things up.

I'm certainly not going to say Tyrus isn't overly sensitive, but he has not been the same since the demotion. He was a ghost for most of the year, until regaining his starting spot against the Nuggets following the trade, and played excellent in the team's best game of the season by far, putting up a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, complemented by 2 steals and 3 blocks.

Yet despite finally once again showing signs of life and proving he was good enough to be an NBA starter, Boylan gave away his starting spot to Drew Gooden. More than that, he effectively pulled Tyrus from the rotation, and only played him eight minutes in the blow out win over the Grizzlies. That was the last game before the incident.

The suspension was fair given Thomas' behavior, but management and the coaches should not use this as an excuse to move Thomas this summer. His best days are unquestionably ahead of him, and there is very little Tyrus can not do on a basketball court.

Defensively he's got the talent to be one of the best at his position, and given his clearly demonstrated work ethic, his offensive production will soon catch up.

Yes, he is immature and far too sensitive, but how many young people aren't? With time and a little faith from the Bulls brass Tyrus will grow out of these character faults and evolve into the player Paxson thought he could become when he drafted him.

Whether it is in a Bulls uniform or not, by the end of his career, no one will think the Bulls lost on that draft day deal.

Then again, he could go down as a draft day flop similar to fellow LSU alum, Stromile Swift. It depends on which Tyrus he chooses to be, the one who skips practices, or the one who worked his way up from nothing to college stardom.

The potential is there, but as Thomas himself said shortly after the draft:

You're currently logged into Facebook

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