The shot is often ill-advised in the analytics era that has no regard for the once-glorified midrange game, but Meleek Thomas had no hesitation or regard for external opinion as he bounced off of Hawai’i guard Hunter Erickson and rose up just to the right of the free throw line.
Thomas was fading, but the rhythm in his game transitioned this shot from one in which basketball traditionalists cringed at to one that demonstrated the natural scoring ability that oozes off of Thomas. When a guy like that takes a shot like that, the number of onlookers questioning it suddenly plummets. When they make it–like Thomas did–it’s the type of shot that shows up on NBA Draft tape.
“He can get buckets,” Arkansas assistant Kenny Payne said. “He’s learning that he can play on the ball or off the ball. He’s learning that he doesn’t just have to hunt shots, that if you don’t hunt shots and you’re a natural scorer it just comes to you and helps you play in a rhythm.”
The moment was one in a weekend that dignified Thomas’ case to be considered one of college basketball’s best freshmen and most gifted off the bounce scorers. The variance in Thomas’ scoring was a near art form. A number of his baskets came easily, in transition or off of cuts. Nearly as many came in isolation or on a contested look off the catch. That’s just him, though.
Thomas went for 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting in Arkansas’ NCAA Tournament opener against Hawai’i and followed up his introduction to the country with a 21-point outing against High Point in the Round of 32.
This is Thomas in his purest form. Putting it on the floor. Confidence flowing. Looking like one of the most dynamic scorers in the sport.
With the computer screen in front of him and no body of work as a college player, Thomas clearly didn’t care much for the value of embracing a politically-correct style. Watching Thomas isn’t watching a politically correct player, though. The Arkansas guard embraces a wide spanning, never-ending confidence.
That’s why he’s here as a 15.6 point per game scorer that’s heading to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. That’s why Arkansas’ Sweet 16 matchup with Arizona won’t be the biggest game he ever plays in. That’s why college basketball is just a step on his journey rather than the end of the road.
Thomas said that summer day that he was looking forward to showing off his energy, leadership and dominance once he finally took the floor for Arkansas. He said he intended to make his presence felt immediately. Perhaps Thomas’ profile as a five-star McDonald’s All American made the claims less bold, but it didn’t decrease the guts that it took to say them.
It wasn’t off brand, either.
As Thomas sits in the Bridgestone Arena locker room and is presented with the idea that he believes that nobody who stands in front of him can stop him, he cuts off the question with a nod and a quick “yep” before allowing it to finish.
It was perhaps the most predictable thing that could’ve come out of the Arkansas guard’s mouth. It was a peek into the mind that allows Thomas to face up with anyone in the world and believe that the possession will end with them taking the ball out of the net.
“It’s kind of my personality,” Thomas told Basket Under Review. “I would say it started young.”
The chip on Thomas’ shoulder has been in the national spotlight since a high school video of him emerged in which he told another player that he couldn’t go to any school that he had an offer from. The video continues as Thomas is told that he’s a fake four star and responds by correcting him and saying that he’s got five stars on his recruiting profile.
Some loved Thomas’ confidence. Some hated what they perceived as arrogance. Thomas has since reigned it in, but that semi-viral clip appeared to embody him in some ways. The Arkansas guard isn’t to be boxed into a rigid system. He’s not to be toned down, either.
This future NBA guard needs room to operate like a future NBA guard, and Arkansas has been intentional about giving it to him. It’s reaping the benefits as a result.
"He just be out there having fun, playing his game," Arkansas guard DJ Wager told Basket Under Review. "You can tell he loves basketball, he loves playing basketball. He can score in any way you can name, as well."
The flair and near chaos of Thomas’ game appears chaotic on the surface, but it’s intentional chaos. Every item in Thomas’ rolodex of off the bounce scoring moves was workshopped years ago on double rims in Pittsburgh’s summer heat.
Thomas played on a number of high school basketball’s biggest stages as an Overtime Elite star, McDonald’s All American and EYBL star. He identifies himself as a product of pickup basketball, though.
“As a kid, just growing up, I played a lot of free basketball, backyard basketball, park basketball, it was just finding ways to put the ball in the basket,” Thomas said. “At the same time, I’m just getting a great feel of the college game because you got to play within the team, but I also know when to get baskets on your own and get a bucket.”
At some point down the line, Thomas will showcase that in an NBA uniform. He’ll always remember building up his repertoire on the asphalt, though.
Thomas describes the old pickup runs that he participated in as hard nosed and recalls a number of players that weren’t basketball players by trade, but were out there to get after people. The now-Arkansas guard says there were no fouls called in those pickup games and says he was playing against “real dogs.”
Pittsburgh has some players and a basketball culture that doesn’t get recognized enough, if you ask the Arkansas standout. Yet, he’s one of just a few players at this stage who have ties to the city that he’s from.
As a result, Thomas has made Pittsburgh part of his identity. The competitiveness of its pickup games come through the screen through Thomas’ game. Watching Thomas’ fearlessness is watching the toughness of the blue-collar nature of the city that he’s been forced to embrace over the years. The way Thomas smiles and lets it rip fearlessly is the least he could do to repay the city and represent it while on college basketball’s biggest stage.
“It means everything,” Thomas said in regard to being a Pittsburgh representative. “I don't feel like too many too many athletes. Not athletes, but basketball players make it from Pittsburgh. To represent my city and keep going and keep going and knowing where I'm going with it, it's huge for me. It means everything, means the world.”
Arkansas coach John Calipari has pushed and pulled with Thomas since the summer in regard to the shots that Thomas takes. Calipari has always seen how Thomas can impact the game, though. So has everyone else who has been around Thomas.
Wagner recalls seeing Thomas the summer before they played together for the first time and knowing right away that he was going to be special. The Arkansas veteran is a former five-star recruit himself and could’ve advised Thomas on how to navigate the pressure that comes with the role, but he says he never felt like he needed to.
Thomas was ready for this, and he’s continued to be as he’s taken on college basketball’s biggest stage. Calipari invests because he says Thomas is “different” and knows the ceiling if his dynamic shotmaking ability can be packaged into a system.
"He is a bucket-getter, and I'll tell you what else he is, he's a gym rat, and he lives in the gym," Arkansas coach John Calipari said earlier in the season. "He's a basket-getter, but he is used to having the ball and then getting a basket, where we're going to create opportunities for him to run downhill, to shoot floaters, come off a screen, pull up in transition, shoot. You're not going to bounce it 50 times."
Thomas says it took him five to 10 games to figure out the rhythm of the Arkansas offense, but he appears to have turned the corner in some ways. The Arkansas standout says he feels he’s found a rhythm within a college offense these days.
The efficiency numbers–namely Thomas’ offensive rating, 3-point percentage and turnover rate–would indicate that he’s done that. So would his ability to ride shotgun behind Arkansas star Darius Acuff at times.
When Thomas puts that thing on the floor, though, the idea that taking the playground basketball out of him is wise appears to be naive.
