Tag: Saint Thomas

USC transfer Saint Thomas considered a 2025 NBA draft prospect

Saint Thomas gives USC basketball real upside.

Senior USC transfer Saint Thomas is a 6-7, 220-pound forward who comes to Troy after a season at Northern Colorado (2023-24) and two at Loyola Chicago (2021-22 and 2022-23).  He enters the coming season having started 73 career games between his previous two schools.

The USC Trojan forward averaged 19.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 32 games for Northern Colorado in 2023-24.

Thomas is a four-star prospect in the 247Sports transfer portal recruiting rankings. He’s USC’s highest rated transfer commitment as the No. 54 overall player and No. 11 small forward.

Saint Thomas is a projected early to mid first-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft as of now, but we obviously have a long way to go in the process leading to next June’s big event.

The Nebraska native and former Gatorade State Player of The Year will be the projected leader in points and rebounds for USC in the upcoming season.

Eric Musselman and the Trojan basketball team won’t have many NBA prospects for this season, but I believe they will have more wins and Thomas’ success will be vital in leading them to a better record.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Check out more NFL draft coverage with the USA TODAY Sports NFL Draft Hub.

Eric Musselman names emerging leaders on new USC basketball roster

Trojans Wire writer Tim Prangley talked to coach Eric Musselman about the emerging culture of leadership on the USC roster.

Year 1 of Eric Musselman’s USC basketball tenure is off and running. On a team that returns only one player from last season, Harrison Hornery, Musselman pointed to sources of vocal leadership after a practice held in the Galen Center.

You won’t typically find a roster which is created almost entirely from the transfer portal the way this USC basketball roster was assembled, but Eric Musselman had no choice in the matter. Andy Enfield’s sudden departure to SMU, which was not expected by anyone inside the USC athletic department, initiated the coaching search which led to Musselman’s arrival. Musselman has a reputation for being able to work the transfer portal better than most in college basketball. He went to the portal quite liberally and frequently to replenish his rosters at Arkansas and make three straight Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including two straight Elite Eights in 2021 and 2022. It is important that leaders do emerge on this USC roster, so that the Trojans form the cohesion and chemistry they will need if they are going to make the 2025 NCAA Tournament in the Big Ten Conference.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Another player with ties to Chucky Hepburn enters transfer portal

Another player with ties to Chucky Hepburn enters portal

The NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal continues to grow and another player with connections to Chucky Hepburn entered his name Tuesday.

That is 6-foot, 7-inch forward Saint Thomas, who announced he’ll look for his next opportunity elsewhere after one season at Northern Colorado. The veteran averaged 19.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest with the Bears after spending the first two years of his collegiate career with Loyola-Chicago.

Thomas is a familiar face to Badgers point guard Chucky Hepburn. The two faced each other on occasion while growing up in the state of Nebraska, even meeting at the state tournament.

Thomas not only entered the portal, but also declared for the 2024 NBA draft, potentially bringing his college career to an end.

If he remains at the collegiate level, he could be a possible replacement for Tyler Wahl as the starting power forward for the Badgers next season.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=none image=]