Top 10 Meleek Thomas talks early visits
There might not have been a bigger stock riser in the eyes of onlookers at the USA Basketball October Minicamp than Meleek Thomas. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Pennsylvania put his shot-making abilities on full display in front of a baseline filled with NBA personnel and national media.
“I would say I’m just a dog, “Thomas told On3. “I’m an all around a natural scorer and facilitator, a leader. I watch a lot of Dame (Damian Lillard) and a little Steph Curry, a lot of people that move off the ball can go get a bucket.”
While things are still new for the Pittsburgh (PA) Lincoln Park sophomore, college coaches have started to pay close attention. On3 caught up with Meleek Thomas at the USA Basketball October Minicamp to see where things stood with his recruitment.
“I have offers from St. John’s, Bryant, Indiana, Kansas State, and Pittsburgh right now,” Thomas said. “I have taken visits to Pittsburgh and Penn State. I’d like to learn more about Kansas State and I have a visit set to Indiana on November 30.”
Thomas talks recruitment
Pittsburgh: “It is in my backyard. I met all the coaches on my visits, I’ve known them for a minute. So they always let me know they like me and I’m always welcome. It’s a great program and they have a great team.
“I learned the assistant coach (Jason Capel) played at North Carolina and the head coach (Jeff Capel) played at Duke. So , them just telling me things from their past helped me learn things on the court that I might never thought about.”
Kansas State: “I have a great relationship with the coaches, I’ve been talking to them for a few years. They’ve seen me play and have loved my game ever since. We created a bond.
“They tell me they like my mentality. When they watch me play, I never seemed down. I always seemed like I wanted to go; go win, go score, go help do anything to get the win.”
Indiana: “I have a visit set for them for their game with UNC. They told me they like wing players who are good with the ball. Guys who can facilitate and score and they are recruiting me for a that reason, I can do just that.”
“I feel like Penn State and Xavier should be offering soon,” Thomas said. “Duke, Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas, they’ve all been in contact too.”
In Thomas’ words
“I grew up a fan of my brother, Shawndale Jones,” Thomas said. He played D-I basketball at NJIT.
“I’ll be looking to see if I fit their play style and if their coach has genuine love for me and my family. I want to see if I could really talk to them about anything, like, they’re there for me. It won’t have nothing to do with money, just if I fit their place and their style.
Pro vs. College
Right now, right after high school, I’m looking to go Power Five,” Williams said. “But I am watching the rule where you can go straight to league at 18. So I will look into doing that if I can.”
Thomas scouting report
Meleek Thomas is a bucket-getter who is wired to score. He is electric when it comes to shooting the ball with range that extends well beyond the three-point arc and the confidence that extends to any level. He has good length with some quick-twitch pop to his game. Thomas is able to carve out space off the bounce. His dribble can get him open and he has an ability to contort his body to get his shoulders squared upon release. He will need to continue adding weight to his frame. Scoring comes so easy to him, he can get shot happy. Thomas is a good on ball defender and has natural instincts in the passing lanes. he is tracking as one of the top guards, nationally, in his class.