Deshaun Thomas, Junior, Small Forward, Ohio State
Overview:
Deshaun Thomas came to Ohio State as a very highly touted recruit. As a freshman, back in 2010-2011, Thomas was relegated to the bench. He averaged just 14 minutes per game, but managed to average 7.5 points. When he was on the floor, Thomas was extremely productive. It was during the following campaign when Thomas really burst onto the scene. He was second on the team in scoring and rebounding, second only to Jared Sullinger in both categories.
Thomas turned into the Buckeyes go-to-scorer in 2012-2013. Thomas led Ohio State with 19.8 points and 5.9 rebounds and led his team to within a few points of another trip to the Final Four. During his three years in Columbus, Thomas helped his team to three Sweet Sixteen appearances and a Final Four.
Final Projection:
Thomas is a typical slashing small forward. He has good size at 6-7 and more than enough strength and athleticism to help out on the glass. He is a very efficient scorer when attacking the basket and is a very good free-throw shooter for this many occasions when the opposition has to foul instead of letting him get to the basket. His outside shooting and defensive discipline may keep Thomas out of the first round. Last season he took quite a few three-pointers for Ohio State, but only connected on 34.4 percent of those attempts. In the NBA, a vast majority of his scoring is going to come inside the paint and he may struggle defending many of the more dynamic scoring threats in the NBA.
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