On Tuesday night, five-star prospect and Pittsburgh native Meleek Thomas scored 35 points in his game for Overtime Elite’s City Reapers.
Thomas went 12 for 24 from the field, including 2 for 6 from three-point range. The Arkansas signee grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists in the game, and hit nine of his 12 free-throw tries.
Thomas is in his first season with Overtime Elite in Atlanta, Georgia after playing three years in the WPIAL at Lincoln Park. The highly-touted guard won back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA titles last high-school season as a sophomore and junior at Lincoln Park, averaging 22.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
Pitt had been recruiting Thomas, the top prospect from the Steel City, for years.
However, the Panthers ultimately came up short. Weeks ago, Thomas announced that he will play his collegiate basketball for John Calipari at Arkansas. Shortly after the commitment, Thomas caught up with reporters, including Pittsburgh Sports Now, to break down his commitment and explain why he chose the Razorbacks.
“Just the love they showed,” Thomas told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “Continuing through the whole process, they showed love to my family, not only to me, but also to my family. Play style. They’re just big on me, so I’m big on them.”
Thomas has had a tight-knit relationship with Calipari since his early high-school days at Lincoln Park.
“I’ve had that relationship with Coach Cal for years now,” Thomas said. “It’s always just progressed, it never went down. He just showed love and makes me feel like I should be at Arkansas.”
With the commitment, Arkansas now has the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation. Thomas joins fellow five-star guard Darius Acuff (No. 5 overall player) in the future Razorbacks’ back court.
“It’s going to be a special back court,” he continued. “I don’t think no back court in the country is going to really be able to go head to head with us. Every night, you got to tie your laces up. Me and Cheeks, Vs. any two guards, I like us.”
Coach Cal could have used him last year against Oakland, when he forgot to guard Jack Gohlke and he lit them up for 10 3’s!!
Instead of coaching and adjusting that big mouth just yelled at the kids all night as they lost to a vastly inferior team. Good thing Maleek is getting his first million dollars from him because the days of Calipari actually being a good coach are long gone.
Don’t you know, it’s not about the $$, it’s about the “love”.