Tyrus Thomas

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Tyrus Thomas
Position	Forward
Height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Team	Chicago Bulls
Nationality	USA
Born	August 17 1986 (1986-08-17) (age 22) Image:Flag of Louisiana.svg Baton Rouge, Louisiana
High school	McKinley Senior High School, Baton Rouge
College	LSU
Draft	4th overall, 2006 Portland Trail Blazers
Pro career	2006–present
Awards	2006 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, 2006 SEC Freshman of the Year

Tyrus Wayne Thomas (born August 17 1986, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is an American professional basketball player who played one season of college basketball at LSU and is now an NBA player for the Chicago Bulls.

1 High school career
2 College career
- 2.1 2006 NCAA Tournament
3 NBA career
- 3.1 NBA Career Statistics
4 'Free money' controversy
5 Career highs/accomplishments
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] High school career

In high school, Thomas was only 5-10 as a freshman. He tried out for his freshman basketball team but was cut. He only played organized basketball in his junior and senior years and never really built up enough recruiting hype to be considered a top 100 prospect. As a junior he was a mere 6-6 and 190 pounds, and when he officially committed to LSU they did not initially have a scholarship for him. One later opened up when a JUCO recruit was kicked off his team and his scholarship offer was rescinded. Thomas grew to 6-7 ½, 200 pounds as a high school senior, and averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks per game, good enough only for the all-second team in Louisiana.

[edit] College career

In the 2005-2006 season, Thomas was a redshirt freshman and moved into the starting lineup as a power forward. Because of his leaping ability, Thomas developed a reputation as an outstanding shot blocker, rebounder, and dunker during his time at LSU. On the year, Thomas averaged 12.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.1 blocks in 26 minutes per game on over 60% shooting from the field.

Thomas played in the SEC. His team won their conference with a 14-2 record, and then lost to Florida in the semifinals of the SE tournament with Thomas out resting his ankle for the NCAA tournament. LSU also played a moderately difficult out-of-conference schedule, going on the road to play against teams like West Virginia, Cincinnati, Ohio State and UConn. The UConn game was Thomas's coming out party at the national level, scoring 15 points with 13 rebounds and 7 blocks against arguably the best front-court in the nation on their home floor on national television.

[edit] 2006 NCAA Tournament

Thomas entered the 2006 NCAA Tournament still recovering from a sprained ankle suffered in the February 25 game against Kentucky that caused him to miss the last two regular-season games and the SEC Tournament. However, the injury did not hamper him as he continued the pattern of the regular season, his performances in the 2006 NCAA Tournament improved with every passing game as #4 seed LSU advanced to their first Final Four since 1986. His minutes were somewhat limited by the injury in the 1st round game against No. 13 seed Iona and the 2nd round game against No. 12 seed Texas A&M but he was back to form by LSU's Atlanta Regional Semifinal (Sweet 16) matchup against perennial power and overall top seed Duke. In the Duke game, Thomas scored 9 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked 5 shots despite being limited to 25 minutes due to early foul trouble as LSU held Duke to a 27.7 percent field goal percentage and only 54 points, the school's lowest output since 1996. Thomas was even more dominant in the Regional Final (Elite Eight) win against No. 2 seed Texas, scoring 21 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and blocking three shots. These performances earned Thomas the Atlanta Regional's Most Valuable Player award.

[edit] NBA career

On April 17, 2006, Thomas announced his intention to enter the NBA Draft, and signed with an agent, removing his college eligibility. On June 28, 2006, Thomas was drafted fourth overall in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. Thomas was then traded along with forward Viktor Khryapa to the Chicago Bulls for forward-center LaMarcus Aldridge, the No. 2 pick.

Thomas made his regular season debut against the Miami Heat on October 31, scoring 4 points, while grabbing 5 rebounds and blocking 2 shots. One of his blocks was against fellow LSU alum, current Heat center Shaquille O'Neal. In the game, Thomas had his nose broken by Heat swingman James Posey. In pursuit of a rebound, Posey smashed a forearm against Thomas's nose and broke it in the process.^[1]

Thomas put his athletic skills to good use off the bench on occasion. At the same time, a lack of basketball instincts and fundamentals conspired against him in an erratic rookie season.

[edit] NBA Career Statistics

Regular season	Team	GP	MPG	SPG	BPG	RPG	APG	PPG
2006-2007	Bulls	72	13.4	0.6	1.1	3.7	0.6	5.2

Playoffs	Team	GP	MPG	SPG	BPG	RPG	APG	PPG
2007	Bulls	10	12.2	1.0	0.5	3.4	0.6	5.1

[edit] 'Free money' controversy

It was announced on February 5, 2007, that Thomas would participate in the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk Contest. He would be the first Bulls representative since Scottie Pippen entered the contest in 1990.^[2] Thomas stated his sole motivation to attend the All-Star Weekend event was the "free money" that he would be paid as a participant. He was subsequently fined $10,000 by Bulls general manager John Paxson for the remark.^[3] Thomas had already said that he was going to donate all of his All Star Weekend winnings to his High School.^[4] Thomas went on to lose the dunk contest in the first round.