Ohio State's Thomas a true believer
BOSTON -- Jim Boeheim's trademark 2-3 zone may have withstood Wisconsin's bombardment of 14 three-pointers in the NCAA East Regional semifinals, but if you ask Ohio State's Deshaun Thomas, he will tell you Syracuse is in trouble once Deshaun Thomas gets going in the regional final Saturday night at TD Bank Garden.
Uh, yes, Thomas sometimes refers to himself in the third person, but not in a haughty, LeBron James kind of way. It's part of his un-self-conscious charm.
For instance, mention how Thomas has emerged as the NCAA Tournament's leading scorer, averaging 25.0 points and 8.7 rebounds through three games, and he says, "People are starting to notice now what Deshaun can bring to the table, but I just care about winning. Once we all make it to that promised land, we all get love.''
The promised land is the Final Four in New Orleans, and the road goes through a Syracuse zone that is missing 7-foot anchor Fab Melo blocking shots. Since Melo's suspension for unspecified reasons, his role has been filled by 6-9 Rakeem Christmas and 6-10 Baye Keita. Thomas sees a mismatch he and All-American forward Jared Sullinger can attack.
"I think we've got a big advantage,'' Thomas said. "Those guys really don't move their feet well, and they go after every shot fake. Myself and Jared need to just stretch them out and get in the open seams and knock down shots.
"We match up well with them. Me and Jared can bang with those guys. Wisconsin is a three-point-shooting team.''
Thomas scored 26 and Sullinger added 23 in Thursday's semifinal win over Cincinnati, and Ohio State (30-7) also has complementary scorers in William Buford, Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. who can test Syracuse (33-2). Any of them can score 20, but they all laugh about Thomas' reputation as the true gunner.
Ducking his head and smiling, Thomas said, "I don't know. I love to score. That's what I do. I'm sorry.''
Self-confidence flows naturally from Thomas, who fell in love with his jump shot as far back as fourth grade, when he discovered he could make anything he put up -- from hooks to bank shots to that pure lefty jumper.
"When I was in middle school, I had 44, 33 and 11,'' Thomas said of his greatest triple-double. With a laugh, he added, "It was 11 blocks. Defense.''
In high school at Bishop Luers in Fort Wayne, Ind., Thomas always had the green light. He averaged 30.3 points as a junior and 31.8 as a senior, when he was Indiana's Mr. Basketball, and he finished third in the history of a basketball-rich state with 3,018 points.
"People tease him about how many shots he takes,'' Sullinger said. "But if you only knew what Deshaun did in high school, where the ball was in his hands every time and he could take whatever shot he wanted to take, you would be shocked by how far he has come. From taking almost every shot to now passing up shots that are open shots for him is a big step.''
Well, he doesn't plan to pass up many against Syracuse.
"Once I hit the first couple, it will be a long night,'' Thomas said. "I just feel so comfortable and confident about knocking down the next one.''
