Rashawn Thomas
Forward – 6’8″
Not to be mistaken with Khris Middleton’s alma mater in College Station, Thomas is a four-year forward at Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. The Islanders have only made a single NCAA tournament appearance — which came in 2007 — but Thomas leaves as arguably their best player of all-time.
Thomas led the Southland Conference in points and rebounds per game this year, and has the kind of pedigree that shows a two-way versatility considering he was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year as a junior too.
The concern for Thomas will be that the skills which made him a highly skilled power forward in college won’t necessarily be enough to get him by in the NBA.
More of a small forward by professional standards, Thomas’ 30 percent from three on just 70 total attempts across four seasons poses a problem. The 22-year-old did trend up making 37.8 percent of his 37 attempts as a senior, but whether that’s sustainable remains to be seen.
Leaving his school as their all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks and 15 other records, and with senior year averages of 22.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.6 steals, there’s little doubt of Thomas’ ability. Whether it translates against higher quality competition with his tweener build is a different question, though.