19. New Mexico
Kenny Thomas, a.k.a. Baby Shaq, is 25 pounds lighter and eager to shed his reputation as a postseason folding act
Posted: Wednesday November 18, 1998 02:06 PM
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Often maligned, Thomas still shoulders the Lobos'
load. Manny Millan |
"O.K.,
what
bad stuff are you going to write about me?" asks New
Mexico senior center Kenny Thomas in place of a more
traditional greeting. Thomas is kidding
... sort of. He clearly has issues with some of the scribes
who have evaluated his job performance over the last three
years, particularly during the tournament. Let's just say
that around Albuquerque many of them are prone to doubting
Thomas. "Hey, I
know I'm not perfect," he says. "But who else gets
criticized for getting 14 points and 10 rebounds while
being triple-teamed the entire
game?"
Thomas, a
6'8" so-called Baby Shaq, has career averages of 15.1
points and 8.0 rebounds, and he has won the WAC tournament
MVP award twice. But in six NCAA games Thomas has vanished,
attempting just 39 shots, averaging 8.5 points and fouling
out three times. He
should be liberated from triple-teaming this season by the
arrival of two tall
transfers—6'7" Damion Walker from TCU, a freshman All-America in
'96, and
6'8" Brian Smith from San Diego—and by more
consistent scoring from junior
Lamont Long, a
6'4" slasher who had 31 points in one game last year and
zero in two others. After reaching a settlement with the
NCAA over a three-year-old eligibility dispute, Thomas will sit
out the Lobos' first five games, an absence that could work
to his team's
advantage. "The rest of us need to learn not to rely so
much on Kenny and show what we can do," Long says.
"Maybe that will make us more dangerous in
March."
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| STARTING LINEUP |
| POS. | HT. | CLASS | KEY STAT |
| SF Brian Smith | 6'8" | So. | 3.1 ppg** |
| PF Damion Walker | 6'7" | Jr. | 6.5 rpg** |
| C Kenny Thomas* | 6'8" | Sr. | 16.8 ppg |
| SG Lamont Long* | 6'4" | Jr. | 14.1 ppg |
| PG Dontay Hicks | 6'1" | Jr. | 6.7 apg† |
'97-98 record: 24-8
Final rank (coaches' poll): No. 21
*Returning starter
**'96-97 stat
†apg as junior college sophomore
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That might be wishful thinking for the Lobos, who have
earned trips to six of the last eight NCAA tournaments but
haven't advanced beyond the second round. After serving 48
hours in jail over the summer for an April DWI, Thomas
showed his increased
commitment by shedding 25 pounds to reach 255. "I
respect Kenny because he could have taken the money and run
to the pros, but he knows he's not the finished
product," coach Dave Bliss says. "He has matured
more in the last three months than he did in the
previous three
years."
When asked about Bliss's comment, Thomas lightens up for a
moment. "Coach said that?" he says.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm 21 going on 40."
—Tim Crothers Top 25 | Rest of the Best
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