Huey Thomas (2018) - Hall of Fame - University of San Francisco Athletics

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Huey Thomas

Class

1965
Induction

2018
Sport(s)

Men's Basketball

Position: Point Guard
USF Career Years: 1962-1965
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Career Highlights: Three-time letter winner for Men's Basketball; Three-time WCAC Champion

Huey Thomas was born on October 2, 1940 in Los Angeles, and played baseball in high school in Southern California. Thomas tried out for the Los Angeles Dodgers and was accepted, but did not play for them long. “My parents were farmers in Louisiana,” Thomas said. “They had a third and fourth-grade education, so my family 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.” To ensure that the athletes did well academically, the Athletic Department hired George Thurman to help the team athletes take the right classes and get the right tutoring, even on the road.

Thomas played for the Dons as a point guard 1962 to 1965, and lettered three years. He was a team catalyst, and led the Dons offense. His combination of speed, quickness, intelligence, and jumping ability gave Pete Peletta the perfect weapon to slow down All-Americans Terry Baker of Oregon State, Gail Goodrich of UCLA, and two-time WCAC Player of the Year Steve Gray of Saint Mary’s. Along with teammates Jim Brovelli, Ollie Johnson, Joe Ellis, Erwin Mueller, Ed Thomas, and Russ Gumina, the Dons went 64-18 and won the WCAC three straight seasons, and attended the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament three times. Thomas hadn’t been expected to be a big scorer, but he finished his USF career averaging 7.5 PPG, 75.2 FT%, and 48.6 FG%.

Favorite USF Memories:
One of Thomas’ 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 2000. When we came out onto the floor, I was screaming at the top of my voice, and 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 the turning point right there in that game.”

Did you Know?
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, and it was his job to know every play and every position of his team, earning him the nickname, “Doctor” because he always had “the cure” to get it done.

Life After USF:
Thomas played basketball professionally in the Philippines for two seasons, and then played baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers on the rookie team. Since 1984, he has been a United States Tennis Professional, and a Certified Tennis Instructor. He has spent more than 35 years as a volunteer, working with Bay Area youth as a teacher, coach, and mentor.

Hall of Fame release about Huey Thomas

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