As we get closer to our annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the University of San Francisco athletics department is rolling out a series to introduce the fans to out 2018 honorees.  First up is former men's basketball player Huey Thomas. 
 

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It was fall 1962, former University of San Francisco men's basketball player Huey Thomas just showed up to campus, and it was a "magical time" for him in that moment. The goals for Thomas when he came to USF as well as the team, school, and fans was to return USF to a national basketball power. In doing so, there wasn't much of an adjustment for Thomas in his first year as a Don.

"That year, Sports Illustrated came out to spend a week with us as we were ranked 20th in the nation in 1962," Thomas said. "Now, it was also incredible because there were bon rallies, student rallies and from the first game we played from the 1962-1963 season up to my last three years later, every game was sold out."

The school itself for Thomas was a gift to him because it provided him education and the opportunity to learn. It started at USF and continued on throughout Thomas's college career when he expanded his learning capabilities though books, seminars and classes. The athletic department was also committed to making sure the basketball players — as well as all the athletes — were doing the same.

Thomas mentioned that the athletic department hired George Thurman to help athletes take the right classes and made sure they had the right tutoring. As a man who graduated college and got his masters at the age of 20, he was also in charge of conducting classes for the basketball players while they were on the road, according to Thomas. To show what a success that level of commitment did, every player Thomas played with during his years as a Don graduated.

Beyond school, Thomas was enjoying playing for the team. One of Thomas's most memorable games was in his first season when the Dons were tied with Santa Clara for a bid to go to the NCAA Tournament.

"The game was played at USF and they packed 8,500 people into the gymnasium and had to turn away 2,000 people," Thomas said. "When we came out of the floor, I was screaming at the top of my voice and I still couldn't have been heard. We won the game 61-60 and that was the start of us going to the NCAA tournament. The students after the game went downtown and basically stopped all the traffic because that was a turning point right there in that game."

As the point guard on the team, Thomas was given the responsibility of bringing the ball up, recognizing what type of defense the opponent was in, whether it was zone or man-to-man, and also know each of his players. Thomas controlled the tempo of the game, making it go fast or slow down, and it was his job to know every play and every position of his team, earning him the nickname, "The Doctor," because he always "had a cure" to get it done.

As point guard, Thomas wasn't tasked to making shots, but that didn't stop him from seizing the opportunities. Thomas finished his career with 482 points with a average of 7.3 points per game.

Before Thomas even thought about playing basketball in college, he made his way through major league baseball. In 1959 when Thomas graduated from high school, the best senior baseball players in Southern California tried out for the Los Angeles Dodgers rookie team and Thomas was one of the lucky 24 to make it. It didn't last long however when it came time to make a very important decision.

"My parents were farmers in Louisiana," Thomas said. "They had a third and fourth grade education so my family, they wanted someone to graduate from college. For me, I wanted to play big-time college basketball so USF gave me the opportunity to satisfy my parents dreams and mine by graduating."

When Thomas's college career came to an end, he continued to play professionally in the Philippines for two season. Once his time as a basketball player was up, Thomas knew it wasn't end of his athletic career. Since 1984, Thomas has been a U.S. Tennis Professional and a certified tennis instructor.

To Thomas, all sports are related somehow. All the skills in baseball, basketball and tennis are compropable and it all starts with the footwork. According to Thomas, once the proper footwork is down, then an athlete can be successful in almost any sport so once Thomas learned basketball, tennis came easy.

35 years later, Thomas has continued to be active in sports, but from a different standpoint. As a volunteer working with Bay Area youth, Thomas is not only a teacher and a mentor, but a coach as well and he hopes to bring wisdom to kids through sports as it was done for him.

"Since I have so many skills, I can teach baseball, basketball, tennis and I'm also certified with the U.S. Table Tennis Association — I studied from an Olympic coach — so those are four skills I have an opportunity to pass on to the youth here in San Francisco," Thomas said. "I came from a very rough place and I did basketball, and baseball to save myself. As a role model, I am honored to pass off those particular gifts to the young men and women I coach."

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Formal induction ceremonies for the Hall of Fame are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 23 at the Father Hubert "Hub" Flynn Hall of Fame Dinner in the McLaren Center on the USF campus. The festivities will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by the dinner program at 7:30 p.m. The inductees will also be honored at halftime of the USF-San Diego basketball game on Feb. 24.

Individual reservations for the Father Hubert "Hub" Flynn Hall of Fame Dinner are priced at $75 while a table of 10 may be purchased for $725.