Billy Thomas – schooled in coach Roy Williams’s hoops factory at the University of Kansas where the likes of National Basketball Association (NBA) players Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz, Jacque Vaughn, Scott Padgett, and Danny Manning polished their skills – showed up as Maurice Bell’s replacement and was impressive in his Gold Rhum Masters debut. He hit 38 points, shot 12-of-14 free throws, grabbed nine rebounds, compiled five steals, and dished off two assists in 45 minutes.
The downside was Tanduay lost a 108-93 decision. Blame it on lack of chemistry. Thomas flew in just a few days ago and played with a bad case of jet lag. The most prolific three-point bomber in Kansas history, Thomas couldn’t get going from long range and buried only 2-of-12 treys.
Tanduay played importless in a 92-78 loss to Sta. Lucia Realty last Wednesday as original pick Maurice Bell was sidelined with a strained shoulder ligament and would-be sub Mark Karcher of Temple University was a no-show at the airport.
The Gold Rhum Masters are languishing near the bottom of the standings with a 1-3 record. But coach Derick Pumaren is optimistic of a rebound. Eric Menk, who has missed Tanduay’s last three games with a pulled calf muscle, and Jeffrey Cariaso, who has skipped the last two with a severe ankle sprain, are expected to be back in uniform when the Gold Rhum Masters face Pop Cola on Friday.
When Bell will be cleared by doctors to resume playing is still a question mark. Another question mark is once Bell’s cleared, will Pumaren send Thomas home? Who will carry the Tanduay flag in the end – Bell or Thomas?
Bell was team owner Lucio (Bong) Tan’s choice to play for Tanduay this year. And why not? Bell averaged 23.9 points and 11.2 rebounds in 11 games for the Gold Rhum Masters in the Governors Cup last season. He led Tanduay to four straight wins and a 6-1 record during a torrid stretch in the eliminations but couldn’t sustain the momentum as the Gold Rhum Masters lost two in a row to San Miguel Beer in the quarterfinals and failed to advance to the semis.
Bell played three years for coach Mike Vining at Northeast Louisiana (now known as the University of Louisiana at Monroe), an NCAA Division I contender in the Southland Conference. As a senior in 1999-2000, he averaged 22 points and posted a career-high 39 points in the Indians’ 98-85 win over the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
The black mark in Bell’s record was in 1998, he was arrested for allegedly stealing a stereo from a car. Bell denied the theft and said the police found nothing on him. Although he was convicted, Bell didn’t lose his athletic scholarship and sat out only five games on probation before he was reinstated as a varsity player.
Thomas, 25, battled mononucleosis and a bad back early in his Kansas career before averaging 13.6 points as a senior starter in 1997-98. In four years as a Jayhawk, he knocked in 269-of-681 triples for a career clip of 39.5 percent. One of Thomas’ most memorable explosions was his 27-point outburst – spiked by 8-of-11 treys – in a Kansas win over Vanderbilt.
Thomas isn’t used to losing. At Kansas, the Jawhawks posted a record of 122-22 – a winning clip of 84.7 percent – in his four years. But the varsity never won an NCAA title during Thomas’ stint.
Critics, in fact, blamed Thomas for Kansas’ playoff woes. When he was a sophomore in 1995-96, Thomas was all alone under the Jayhawks basket with only a few seconds to go and Syracuse on top by two in an NCAA Regional Finals game. It was a perfect set-up for an uncontested layup. But Vaughn’s pass slid through Thomas’ hands and went out of bounds. Syracuse held on to win, 60-57, and ended Kansas’ season.
In the 1996-97 season, Thomas reprised his goat’s role. It was another NCAA playoff game and Arizona led, 85-82, in a Sweet 16 game. Kansas had the last possession and Thomas was tapped to go for the tie. Alas, his open triple rimmed out and the Jayhawks again closed out the year on a sour note.
It was the same story in the 1997-98 campaign. Kansas battled Rhode Island in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Thomas was given the green light to shoot all game long but missed 13 of 15 treys as Rhode Island ousted the Jayhawks, 80-75.
Despite Thomas’ bad luck, his Kansas coach never gave up on him until the final buzzer. "I don’t think Billy ever gets rattled," said Williams. "You can drop him in the middle of Saudi Arabia and he’ll find a way to get comfortable."
As for Thomas, he once said – in supreme confidence, "Any shot I take, I think it’s going in."
From Kansas, Thomas suited up for Club Regatta San Nicolas in Argentina, averaging 18.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. Then he saw action for the Kansas Cagerz in the United States Basketball League (USBL) last year, hitting 14.4 points an outing and shooting 41.3 percent from three-point distance and 84.2 percent from the line. This past season, Thomas averaged 16.5 points for the Cincinnati Stuff in the International Basketball League (IBL) where he was third overall in steals and first in three-point conversions.
Last Sunday, Thomas showed a lot of classy moves – much like Talk ‘N Text’s Brandon Williams. No doubt, he’s hard-working, extremely skilled, and athletic.
Whom will Pumaren bless once Bell is cleared to resume playing? That’s a tough call. Perhaps, Pumaren should take a poll and let his locals decide. The last man standing should be the import whom the locals feel comfortable playing with – the import who can lead Tanduay over the hump.