Thomas Enshrined into Hall of Fame
9/10/2018 7:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TCU Great Enters SWC Hall of Fame
FORT WORTH, Texas – Already a member of the TCU Letterman's Hall of Fame, Kurt Thomas entered another hall when he went into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame Monday at the Brown-Lupton University Union on the TCU Campus.
After receiving his hall of fame medal, Thomas discussed his career on stage with the Voice of the Frogs, Brian Estridge.
"I wasn't heavily recruited coming out of high school," said Thomas, a Dallas native. "One night, Dallas Hillcrest was playing Dallas Lincoln. We lose to Lincoln and I'm sitting at home upset. My mother tells me to join this basketball thing called AAU. I then played in this tournament and joined the Dirty Dozen. I'm not even starting, but I come off the bench and in the first game, I scored 27, and the second game, 29, and the third game, 23. Then a coach by the name of Gary Mendenhall, I caught his eye."
The longtime assistant coach of Moe Iba helped lure Thomas to TCU, which launched an 18 year NBA career.
"Fortunate for me, I had a big fella named Reggie Smith, who paved the way for me," said Thomas. "I got to see how hard he worked on the court, off the court and in the classroom. To see him get drafted. I saw him make it from small TCU and I said, hey why don't I give it a try."
Thomas, the 1994-95 SWC Player of the Year and two-time All-SWC selection, spent four seasons with the Horned Frogs from 1990-95. Thomas had a breakthrough season as a junior in 1993-94, his first year as a starter, averaging 20.7 points and almost 10 rebounds per game.
"I got off to a slow start in college. I didn't really play much my freshman year. I just sat on the bench. Sophomore year, I started to play a little bit and then broke my ankle. I came back my junior year and broke it again and then redshirted. So my first three years here at TCU I didn't really contribute much to the athletic program. My junior year I scored a few points and then Billy Tubbs came and I was able to lead the nation in points and rebounding."
The arrival of head coach Billy Tubbs for Thomas' senior season led to his best year ever. Thomas became only the third player in NCAA history to lead the nation in both scoring and rebounding as he averaged 28.9 points and 14.6 rebounds per contest and was a third team All-American.
On Feb. 25, 1995, the Dallas native recorded the first triple-double in TCU history with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 11 blocks at Texas A&M.
Thomas was the 10th overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft by the Miami Heat. He spent 18 seasons in the NBA before retiring at the end of the 2013 season.
"My second and third year in the league, I broke my ankle four times in a period of two years," said Thomas. "A lot of people thought my career was over, but I ended up playing another 15 years."
Thomas was inducted into the TCU Lettermen's Association Hall of Fame in 2005.
The eight others in the 2018 class, sponsored by the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, are former Arkansas College Football All-American, Steve Atwater, All-SWC Baylor basketball player, Tommy Bowman, All American basketball player from the University of Houston, Larry Micheaux, former women's track & field coach from Rice, Victor Lopez, SMU basketball standout, Denny Holman, University of Texas All-American baseball player, Brooks Kieschnick, Texas A&M football and track legend, Curtis Dickey and All-SWC quarterback from Texas Tech, Joe Barnes.
After receiving his hall of fame medal, Thomas discussed his career on stage with the Voice of the Frogs, Brian Estridge.
"I wasn't heavily recruited coming out of high school," said Thomas, a Dallas native. "One night, Dallas Hillcrest was playing Dallas Lincoln. We lose to Lincoln and I'm sitting at home upset. My mother tells me to join this basketball thing called AAU. I then played in this tournament and joined the Dirty Dozen. I'm not even starting, but I come off the bench and in the first game, I scored 27, and the second game, 29, and the third game, 23. Then a coach by the name of Gary Mendenhall, I caught his eye."
The longtime assistant coach of Moe Iba helped lure Thomas to TCU, which launched an 18 year NBA career.
"Fortunate for me, I had a big fella named Reggie Smith, who paved the way for me," said Thomas. "I got to see how hard he worked on the court, off the court and in the classroom. To see him get drafted. I saw him make it from small TCU and I said, hey why don't I give it a try."
Thomas, the 1994-95 SWC Player of the Year and two-time All-SWC selection, spent four seasons with the Horned Frogs from 1990-95. Thomas had a breakthrough season as a junior in 1993-94, his first year as a starter, averaging 20.7 points and almost 10 rebounds per game.
"I got off to a slow start in college. I didn't really play much my freshman year. I just sat on the bench. Sophomore year, I started to play a little bit and then broke my ankle. I came back my junior year and broke it again and then redshirted. So my first three years here at TCU I didn't really contribute much to the athletic program. My junior year I scored a few points and then Billy Tubbs came and I was able to lead the nation in points and rebounding."
The arrival of head coach Billy Tubbs for Thomas' senior season led to his best year ever. Thomas became only the third player in NCAA history to lead the nation in both scoring and rebounding as he averaged 28.9 points and 14.6 rebounds per contest and was a third team All-American.
On Feb. 25, 1995, the Dallas native recorded the first triple-double in TCU history with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 11 blocks at Texas A&M.
Thomas was the 10th overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft by the Miami Heat. He spent 18 seasons in the NBA before retiring at the end of the 2013 season.
"My second and third year in the league, I broke my ankle four times in a period of two years," said Thomas. "A lot of people thought my career was over, but I ended up playing another 15 years."
Thomas was inducted into the TCU Lettermen's Association Hall of Fame in 2005.
The eight others in the 2018 class, sponsored by the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, are former Arkansas College Football All-American, Steve Atwater, All-SWC Baylor basketball player, Tommy Bowman, All American basketball player from the University of Houston, Larry Micheaux, former women's track & field coach from Rice, Victor Lopez, SMU basketball standout, Denny Holman, University of Texas All-American baseball player, Brooks Kieschnick, Texas A&M football and track legend, Curtis Dickey and All-SWC quarterback from Texas Tech, Joe Barnes.
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