*Release provided by the West Coast Conference*

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The WCC's men's basketball scoring leader Malik Thomas from San Francisco is the featured guest on this week's edition of the WCC POINTS IN THE PAINT men's basketball podcast with hosts Sean Farnham and Dave Flemming. 

"The WCC is a conference that is consistently putting people on notice. Competing with Gonzaga and Saint Mary's, and now we have Washington State and Oregon State, I feel like we're very slept on but people are starting to take notice how great of a conference this is. I feel like this is the best conference on the West Coast." - Malik Thomas. 

Thomas and the Dons are one of five teams currently ranked in the top 70 in the NET and one of six in the top 80. USF battles first-place Saint Mary's this Thursday at 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. 

Timestamps are listed below for efficient viewing:

00:45 - A look back at last week's exciting games
"When we started this podcast, we talked about the depth and the quality of teams inside the top 70 and top 75 [in the NET]. When you have a conference that's deeper, when you have a conference that has many good teams, it tends to breed some unpredictability. This happens when you have depth, when you have talent, and the West Coast Conference should be viewed this way by national pundits." - Sean Farnham 

5:00 - The upcoming schedule for Saint Mary's

6:40 - Breaking down Gonzaga's week

9:30 - Malik Thomas joins the show

"I dedicated this summer to changing my game, changing my lifestyle, my eating habits, my routines. It came with a lot of hard work and dedication." - Malik Thomas on what he did during the offseason to prepare for this season. 

"I love the city [San Francisco]. There are so many things to do here. The food is amazing. Coming from LA, I'm used to the big city life. San Francisco has been a little more chill and relaxing. It's been a great experience for sure." - Malik Thomas 

"Over the summer I worked on my pace and my footwork. Learning how to play at my pace, slowing down, seeing the game, making the right reads, not having so much tunnel vision." - Malik Thomas on what he worked on with his game this offseason. 

22:00 - On Tyeree Bryan's performance at Gonzaga

25:20 - Oregon State's win over Gonzaga

29:10 - Previewing this week's games

32:27 - LMU picks up two wins last week

To watch the complete episode, click here. 
 
Full episodes of both the WCC POINTS IN THE PAINT Men's Basketball Podcast and Women's Basketball Podcast will be available on the WCC's YouTube channel, as well as Apple and Spotify podcasts. Fans can also find clips of each show on the WCC basketball X account, @WCChoops, as well as the Conference's Facebook, Instagram and TikTok channels and @WCCsports with links to the full episode.