Irish recruit Thomas leads Pike to state championship
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS
For the second time in four seasons at Indianapolis Pike High School, Irish men's basketball recruit Chris Thomas went out with a win.
On Saturday, Pike captured the Class 4A State Championship by beating Penn 56-42, and Thomas completed the circle he began as a freshman when Pike snagged its first state title.
"It's more special," Thomas said of this year's state title. "I played more of a decisive role on the team."
In 1998, Thomas was the first player off the bench on Coach Alan Darner's championship team. In the 2001 title game, the future Notre Dame player led all scorers with 20 points, captured the Trester Award for the outstanding senior athlete in the finals and moved into 11th place on the all-time Indiana scoring list with 2,156 career points.
"Chris has meant a great deal to our program," said Darner, who is retiring after 30 years of coaching. "He's won two state championships. I think we've been ranked in the top five in the state all four years that Chris has been there."
Thomas scored all eight of Pike's first-quarter points as the Red Devils took an 8-5 lead, yet his defense was perhaps as impressive as his ability to score at will.
Thomas held Penn's Marques Husband, who averages 15 points per game, scoreless in the first period. He recorded four steals in the game, getting his first points of the game by picking a Kingsman's pocket at halfcourt then breaking away for a layup.
A favorite to win Indiana's Mr. Basketball award, Thomas and his teammates stifled Penn until they took a 48-21 lead in the fourth quarter and began celebrating the victory. Before Husband, Jim Modlin and Brady Biancardi let off a stream of 3s, Pike was on pace to hold Penn to the lowest output in a state finals game since 1942, when Muncie Borris scored just 18 points.
"Our defense, hands down, won us the game," Thomas said.
Adding Thomas's defense to the Irish next season should better Notre Dame's ability to hold its own in man-to-man matchups with opponents. Penn couldn't get by Thomas, and many college opponents will likely fail in the same attempt.
Not that Thomas only stands out in preventing opponents from scoring. He and teammate David Teague were a lethal combination on offense. The two seniors, who wore matching red wristbands pulled up around their elbows, scored 22 of Pike's 26 first-half points as the Red Devils entered halftime ahead by 10.
Teague, a 6-foot-4 forward who was not even good enough to make the freshman team nor the junior varsity team as a sophomore, finally made the JV cut as a junior, when he averaged 30 points per game. This year, he moved up to join Thomas on varsity and average 15 points per game, with his future open to a Division I career at Purdue, Central Michigan, Bowling Green or Drake.
Pike's best-known player, Thomas, went 9-for-20 as he played all but the final one minute, 27 seconds. The 6-1 point guard managed two slam-dunks. The second was spectacular, as Thomas swiped the ball, dribbled coast-to-coast and spun around midair to jam in the reverse dunk.
Despite his acrobatics, Thomas seemed surprised to win the Trester Award.
"It's a very unexpected honor to win the award," Thomas said, who heaped praise on Teague and Keith Borgan after the game. "I think anybody on the team could win the award. It's just a great feeling to win the Trester Award and win the State Championship."
He had no time to rest following Saturday's title game. He was set to leave his house at 5:30 a.m. Sunday to prepare for the McDonald's All-American game in North Carolina. He was also selected for the upcoming Capital Classic in early April.
Once Thomas finishes the upcoming round of All-Star games, he'll turn his attention to joining the ranks of the Irish, where Coach Mike Brey has him penciled in to replace graduating Martin Ingelsby at the point.
"I'm hoping to be the starting point guard. I've got to work for that," Thomas said. "I talked to a couple of the guys [on the Notre Dame team]. I told the guys that their next game is my first game."
Notre Dame got a verbal commitment from Thomas last April when Matt Doherty was at the helm. The off-season change in coaches couldn't deter Thomas from signing with Notre Dame, especially with both his parents on the Irish bandwagon.
"Chris chose Notre Dame first," said Frank Thomas, Chris's dad. "He liked Coach Doherty as well. I think Chris will be able to make an immediate impact at Notre Dame."
As a high school senior this season, Thomas made the 2 1/2 hour trip from Indianapolis to South Bend several times to watch his future teammates in action and get to know the squad.
"I think as a freshman, you'll see he has great ideas," Brey said. "He watches our games and he brings stuff up. Like Martin, he thinks the game and he watches. We know he's skilled, but he also has the psyche of a quarterback."
All Sports Stories for Monday, March 26, 2001
