Top-50 incoming junior Dedan Thomas Jr. talks his recruitment
This has been quite the summer for Liberty High School star Dedan Thomas Jr. The 6-foot guard out of Nevada has been a very enticing prospect for coaches in the 2024 class. He’s playing his AAU ball for Dream Vision and has been nothing but impressive over the last few weeks.
The success started when he showed flashes all season long during his sophomore season. He finished with totals of 13.3 points, and 5.6 assists, and shot nearly 50% from the field. Pretty good from the starting PG, who played a culminating part of a state championship run this past season.
He’s emerged as a high;y-touted recruit as well. UNLV was his first scholarship offer due to the fact that 1) he’s a local star 2) he’s becoming a national star 3) his dad played and attended UNLV. Made all the sense they became his first offer.
Since he’s become that national commodity. Earning offers from schools like Arizona, USC, Florida, and most recently, Gonzaga.
Schools find intrigue in a guard with an elite IQ like Thomas Jr, and he can also be a scoring threat as well. For what it’s worth, he scored 39 points in a game two years ago.
With that being said, he talked about his recruitment and game with Stockrisers.com. Read more on the sneaky good guard who I believe can push five-star status.
Which schools are heavily involved?
“Houston, Arizona, UNLV, Florida, Gonzaga, among others.”
Any new interests?
“Arkansas and Stanford. Gonzaga is also pretty new.”
Have any of the pro routes reached out?
“The G-League Ignite have been in contact.”
What’s Houston’s pitch and your thoughts on them?
“They are very family oriented just like me, and I really like the coaching staff. They have also built a great culture over the past few years.”
Gonzaga? Thoughts on them and your early relationship with them?
“It’s been good. I’ve been talking to their assistant coach mostly, but then after the last Adidas tournament Coach [Mark] Few called me and offered me.”
Julian Strawther, who also attended Liberty and now Gonzaga, has he made his pitch?
“Yeah, actually during my last tournament he texted me and said that they really like me and that Gonzaga is the move and stuff like that.”
How about UNLV?
“I have been talking to them for a while. My dad played there, so I've built a pretty good relationship with them.”
Visits, what’s planned, and what’s in the works?
“Got Houston, Arizona, and Florida so far.”
Around when?
“Houston will be sometime in late September, and for Arizona and Florida we’re still scheduling it.”
Thoughts on Arizona?
“Been talking to them since last year, so I’ve built a good relationship with them and I like the coaching staff. They also have a really nice campus.”
What about Florida?
“They actually have a coach from UNLV that just left UNLV for Florida. They also have the former head coach from San Francisco that was already recruiting me at USF too, so I’ve already built good relationships with them.”
How would you best describe your game?
“A floor general, high-IQ PG that can control the pace of a game. Also a leader. I can score pretty well and facilitate as well.”
How would you like to add or improve your game?
“Just need to get stronger, faster, more explosive, quicker, and put on more weight.”