Dallas Thomas becoming a prized recruit in 2024
On June 15th, the NCAA contact period began, enabling college coaches to begin reaching out to the incoming junior class. One prospect in mind that I expected to get many phone calls after midnight on that day was Little Rock, Arkansas native Dallas Thomas.
Nicknamed ‘Slim’, Thomas is a 6-foot-8, 170-pound small forward. He’s currently rated amongst the Top-30 prospects (Top-40/50 depending on outlet) but is a guy I see as a possible riser this summer due to his skillset and major upside.
We look at the modern-day NBA and you see all of these long wings, creating tons of space, and scoring a lot from multiple spots. Thomas fits that mend. I look at guys I’ve scouted over the last few years, I’ll take Peyton Watson for example, both of which were long wings, and scored a lot from the outside, but also guys you don’t want to see at the rim.
That’s my interesting comp for Thomas, despite him still having two years of high school left, plenty of time to develop.
Thomas is already on the radar of almost every school in the country, but, in addition, Overtime Elite became the first professional program to inquire and reach out to Thomas and his camp. I see him as a kid who could consider the pro route when all’s said and done, but, he would dominate in one year of college.
Tracking back to the start of the contact period, Thomas heard from a variety of schools from all different conferences. Even one SEC school, adding to the others, has mentioned Thomas as an early priority in 2024.
Which school is that?
Check out Thomas’ interview with Stockrisers.com where we chopped it up on his recruitment, Overtime Elite, his game, and a lot more.
Which schools are involved in your recruitment?
“DePaul, Arkansas, Auburn, Houston, Illinois, Ole Miss, Mizzou, UAPB, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Memphis, St. John’s, Tulsa, TCU, and Missouri State.”
Interests?
“LSU, Iowa, BYU, SMU, Oklahoma, Longwood, Michigan, Butler.”
How has the contact period been for you?
“The contact period has been great, people can always talk about how it can be stressful when your phone is being called and texted a lot, but I look at it as blessings and motivation. It’s always fun to catch up with coaches and programs you’ve been watching since you were young and dreamed about going to.”
Any schools you heard from that shocked you at the moment?
“For sure. Coming up I’ve always looked up to Arkansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Mizzou. Seeing the pros that have gone through there, so it was definitely shocking for them to see me as one of those players and recruit me heavily.”
Arkansas’ what are they pitching and your relationship with Eric Musselman?
“Basically their pitch was that they develop pros on and off the court. Development is something that’s big for me and my family. My relationship with Muss is solid, we’ve talked a couple of times but our whole thing was building a relationship with each other and going from there.”
What about Auburn? They recruit your area heavy, what do you like about them?
“Their early pitch is also development and priority. My family and I have known their assistant Wes Flanigan for a while with him being from Little Rock, so that relationship he has with me and my family is already there. They’ve clearly expressed that I am one of their top priorities which is something I value a lot, I like their campus and style of play a lot, as well as the brotherhood and family type of bond they have within their program.”
Who have you talked to at Michigan, what is their early pitch?
“I talked to Coach Saddi Washington and he told me that he likes my game and that they’re interested in recruiting me. They said they’ll be keeping up with me in the future.”
Will you plan any visits or hold off for now?
“For now, there are schools that want me to come up and visit but I haven’t planned any just yet. I just want to wait, AAU is coming to an end, so I’ll wait so I can have free time to take visits.”
As far as the pro route, thoughts on it? and you heard from one as well?
“Yes, Overtime Elite reached out. As far as the pro route, I’m interested in learning more about it, it’s something that’s pretty new to me. I love the fact that their development is top tier but there’s also still a lot I don’t know about it.”
How would you best describe the game of Dallas Thomas?
“I would describe it as an all-around player, I can score at all three levels, pass, and defend all positions. I always try to play the right way, make the extra passes and contribute to winning most importantly.”
As far as this summer, what are your goals?
“The main goal this summer is to win Peach Jam to finish it off, but I want to continue to improve on my game, get stronger, and just make a name for myself going into my junior year.”