Breaking Down the Dawgs: Isaiah Thomas

Some say his jump shot made a blind man see again. Rumors are that he’s so quick that when he turns the light off for bed he’s already in-between the sheets before the room goes dark. Supposedly a crippled grandmother across his street had her cat stuck in a tree twenty feet high, and he jumped and brought the feline back to safety with only the help of his two legs3. Isaiah Thomas is viewed as the kind of hero to the program that Batman is to Gotham City. A Tacoma legend at Curtis High School, Thomas committed to Coach Romar after his junior year before relocating to South Kent Prep in Connecticut to re-classify and make sure he qualified for the 2008 season. His relocation to the east coast made Husky faithful prepare for the heartbreaking news that one of the powers such as UConn, Syracuse, or Georgetown would swoop in and kidnap their hero. But Thomas kept his word, and now he is carrying the weight of Husky fan’s expectations that he will lead them to the next great stage of Washington basketball. 

Pretty easy for a kid only 5′8″ right?

IT will instantly become the fan favorite as soon as he steps on the court for the first time. There is no question that Husky fans have prayed for the arrival of another Nate Robinson, the little guy with crazy athleticism that everybody loved. We are in Seattle and people love those type of gimmicks, which is seen in the average Mariner fan (grandma with a visor and shorts that are pulled up over the belly button) are reluctant to let guys like Raul Ibanez go because “he is such a nice guy.”

But Thomas will not just become a gimmick, he is expected to become the go-to-guy starting season after next when Jon Brockman departs. Like Robinson, he will be just seen as the little guy who can go big, but inside that small body is a player who can flat out score. Thomas’ performance in the state tournament two years ago will be talked about until perhaps Tony Wroten decides to dominate or we may have to wait for Nahmeir Robinson and Brandon Roy Jr. to grow up and make their father’s proud. 

Thomas has recently lost some of his “attractiveness” to recruiting sites, notably Scout where he is now listed as a three star prospect. I have never been a fan of the star system, and Thomas may be a direct example of that. Thomas held offers from Washington, UCLA, Florida, Georgetown, Indiana, and Kentucky when he committed to Romar. Later on he would earn some offers from the likes of Connecticut and other east coast powers. I’d much rather trust the scouting of Lorenzo Romar, Billy Donovan, Jim Calhoun, and John Thompson III compared to a biased ranking service when trying to find a stud basketball player.

Thomas is on the fast track to being one of the most beloved Huskies in a long time. The likes of Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, Tre Simmons, Will Conroy, and others sparked a new interest in Husky basketball that soon starting attracting recruits such as Thomas. IT needs to take advantage of this interest that past Huskies created and he could very well soon become a national favorite that will get him drafted despite his size just like Robinson.

His Current Impact

As of now Thomas looks to be slotted to be the starting two guard in a backcourt with either Justin Dentmon or Venoy Overton. I personally believe that we will see Thomas and Dentmon starting off against Portland on November 15th mainly because Thomas offers a distinct scoring advantage over JD and Venoy, and because Dentmon will probably be given a shot to start since he is a senior and deserves a shot to show what he can do in his final year. Any combination of Thomas and Dentmon/Venoy is what will be seen throughout the season when the starting rosters are announced unless Scott Suggs or Elston Turner just absolutely explode and are starting with Thomas as the point guard. 

Thomas’ situation is interesting because he is a much better fit for the one rather than the two where he could at times be matched up against guys who are as tall as 6′6″. In most situations Thomas will have the quickness advantage, but it should cause for some interesting mismatches whenever Isaiah is on the court.

How much of a leadership role Thomas takes on could be one of the more interesting subjects of the season. According to Dan Raley in his open gym impressions (as posted here on the 11th) Thomas was already going at the older guys like Dentmon as if they were any other high school scrub that he went against at South Kent. There is no doubt that Thomas is comfortable with where he is at, but how much he decides to control the team could be one of his weaknesses especially if he sees a lot of time at the point guard position. Great leaders have no problem stepping in right away even if they are first year players or rookies, and since it looks like he will be leading this team three years from now, is it unfair to ask him to join Jon Brockman as a leader of the team? It should be an interesting question to watch play out as the season progresses.

As of now with no games in his collegiate career, I am expecting that he will be the third leading scorer on the team behind Brockman and Quincy Pondexter. Thomas is not going to have to be the same type of player he was at Curtis and South Kent where he was taking most of the shots and the focus of the offensive attack. This year Thomas has an All-American candidate with Brockman that should ease his transition with an dependable older player to defer to at times. With Pondexter expected to burst for the second straight year as predicted by Coach Romar, Isaiah could play a direct factor in Pondexter’s production if he can get Quincy some open looks and be somewhat of a diversion for the junior small forward.

For a prediction of his stats, I can realistically see something among the lines of 13 PPG, 4 APG, 1.5 TPG, and 2 SPG for a very productive line for a true freshman guard. He is realistically what I predicted was Justin Dentmon’s ceiling in Denmon’s breakdown, once again only demonstrating how talented Thomas and the expectations that come with him. Thomas’ three point % could be one to keep a close eye on as he is now probably the best shooter from there who will get significant minutes (as touched on in the three point post awhile back). If he shoots around 37-40% his importance to the team is that much greater for the guy to be the main deep ball threat.

Thomas’ ceiling for this year (important to remember) would be about 16.5 PPG, 4.5 APG, 1 TPG, and 3 SPG would be just amazing if he could do that. If Thomas can play at that level I will book my tickets for the Sweet Sixteen in advance because that would absolutely huge paired with Brockman, Pondexter, and the expected improvement of Matthew Bryan-Amaning. I seriously doubt that type of season will happen though because he is after-all a freshman, and a freshman who will be here for his entire four years of eligibility thank god.

So for this team look for Thomas to be the third option, but could easily be the first option at times even with Brockman on the floor. Do not be surprised to see Thomas’ teammates trying to get him the ball often because when IT is hot, he makes the Human Torch want to take a vacation to Hawaii when compared with Isaiah.

His Future Impact

Is there any doubt that he will end up being the number one option for the team? Pondexter could very well be the player we expected when he signed his letter or intent this time next year, but even then Thomas could very well be the go-to-guy.

The Thomas-Amaning tandem could be one of the most lethal in the conference come 2010. They both played together at South Kent for a year, and now playing under Romar at Washington they have the opportunity to be that deadly inside-outside combo they were in high school. Thomas will be a direct factor of how much MBA can harness his talent and run with it. When Pondexter is gone MBA will become a guy that will be looked at as a top option along with Thomas and likely Suggs. Having that big scoring option can not be overlooked, and hopefully he can team up in the front court with Josh Smith come 2010.

Once again it is just the matter of winning games that will allow Washington to add talent and a historical rate with the likes of Smith and Wroten available. Thomas is perhaps the most important part of that equation.

If everything goes as it should in the Isaiah Thomas era, this team should be back dancing this year and be closer to a national championship each passing year. The year to pop and likely win one will depend on if Romar can land Wroten in 2011, and then Montlake will be in store for one of the most exciting years for Husky Basketball in a long time.

Thomas is incredibly important for the long term future of the team. Not only for his stay, but perhaps for the next decade (or more).

Final Judgement

Brandon Roy is maybe the most important Washington player of all time, Thomas has the chance to be at his level when he is done. Not only will Thomas contribute this year to a team that should be dancing, but one who could be dancing in April when he is a junior and senior.

Right now Thomas needs to do what he has been doing his entire life, and that is to simply put the ball in the hoop. If he can do that, almost everything should fall in place for this team and their potential could be met.

Husky fans just need to find the right nickname for their new hero. I have come up with IT Factor, but there are so many attributes to build off of it could very well be G.O.A.T pretty soon.

Now that we have reached the end, it is time to go and pour some ice water on your head to wake up from the dreams of IT and his future here at the Dub we are all currently experiencing.