Friday, Aug. 13
Kenny Thomas
Drafted by:
Houston, Round 1, pick 22.

 
EXPERT ANALYSIS
  "Kenny Thomas is more explosive and a better perimeter shooter than Elton Brand, but he does not have Brand's consistency of effort. Thomas can hit the mid-range jumper and has a nice compliment of moves in the post, but does not always bring his intensity to the arena. He has good pass-and-catch skills, and could make a terrific power forward in the NBA, but he needs to show he can work and play with passion."
-- ESPN's Jay Bilas
College: New Mexico
Height: 6-8
Weight: 260 pounds
Position: Forward
Age: 21 (July 25, 1977)
Birthplace: Atlanta, Ga.

Career highlights

  • Named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press after junior and senior seasons
  • A four-year starter who led New Mexico to its best four-year record in school history, 102-30 with four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament
  • Is the first player in WAC history to record 1,800 points, 1,000 rebounds and 200 blocks
  • Started 119 out of 123 games played
  • Recorded 34 career double-doubles
  • Sat out the 1998 fall semester as a result of a settlement with the NCAA regarding his initial eligibility
  • In August of 1995, the NCAA ruled that he was one-half credit short of the necessary high school core courses
  • A member of the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the 1997 World University Games in Trapani, Italy

    College highlights
    Senior

  • Became the first Lobo player in 23 years to average a double-double with 17.8 points and 10.0 rebounds (14th in nation)
  • Missed all but six minutes of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament after suffering a strained groin in a quarterfinal win over Rice
  • Led team in rebounding in 21 of his 26 games
  • Ranked first on the team with 62 blocks (2..4 bpg, 26th in nation) and second in steal average with 1.6 steals per game
  • Tied his career-high of 31 points vs. UTEP
  • Grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds vs. New Hampshire

    Junior

  • Named WAC Tournament MVP for the second time in three seasons
  • The first Lobo to lead the team in both scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.3 rpg) since Luc Longley in 1990-91
  • Ranked first in blocks (79, 2.5 bpg, 19th in nation) and shot a team-high .767 (122-for-159) from the line
  • Had a career-high 31 points vs. UTEP, making 11-15 FG's, including a career-best four 3-pointers, plus 12 rebounds and 4 assists in just 26 minutes
  • Recorded 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and a career-high seven blocks in win at Colorado State
  • Had 14 points and a career-high-tying 17 rebounds at BYU

    Sophomore

  • Averaged 13.9 ppg and a team-high 6.9 rpg
  • Led the team with 48 blocks
  • Had eight double-doubles
  • Recorded 51 points in back-to-back games against UTEP (25) and Hawaii (26) Feb.
  • 20-22
  • Had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists in win over Utah
  • Had 10 points and a season-high 16 rebounds at New Mexico State followed 19 points and 12 rebounds at Texas Tech for 29 points and 28 boards combined for the two games

    Freshman

  • Named a Third Team Freshman All-America by Basketball Times
  • Named WAC Freshman of the Year and All-WAC Newcomer Team by the coaches and the media Named first team All-WAC by the coaches, just the 5th freshman in the history of the WAC to be named to the first team, joining Utah's Keith Van Horn (1994), Colorado States Eddie Hughes (1979), BYU's Danny Ainge (1978) and Arizona's Coniel Norman (1973) in that group
  • 1996 WAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, averaging 20.3 points and 10 rebounds in the three games
  • Recorded 30 points and 17 rebounds in the 64-60 title win over Utah
  • Thomas and North Carolina's Antawn Jamison were the only two NCAA freshmen to average more than 14 points and seven rebounds, and shoot better than 55% from the field in 1995-96

    College statistics
    SEASON G FGM FGA PCT FTM FTA PCT REB AST PTS AVG
    SEASONGFGMFGAPCTFTMFTAPCTREBASTPTSAVG
    1995-9633170294.578144203.7092565348414.7
    1996-9732139264.527155206.7522206344413.9
    1997-9832195385.506122159.7672979553916.8
    1998-9926162297.545113154.7342595146417.8
    TOTALS1236661240.537534722.7401032262193115.7
    Three-point field goals: 1995-96, 0-for-3 (.000); 1996-97, 11-for-36 (.306); 1997-98, 27-for-72 (.375); 1998-99, 27-for-73 (.370). Totals: 62-for-184 (.353).











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