It was toward the end of Creighton’s Senior Night last Tuesday versus DePaul when the sold-out crowd at the CenturyLink Center was pouring its heart out for outgoing seniors Marcus Foster, Toby Hegner, Tyler Clement and Manny Suarez as they played their final home game.
But the crowd also saved a loud and extended cheer for a non-senior. Well, it was more a plea than a cheer to be honest. Creighton Nation loves Khyri Thomas and they weren’t afraid to show it. But when they chanted “One More Year, One More Year” at Thomas as he exited the game in the waning moments, he thought the chant was directed at the senior class.
“I didn’t know that was for me,” Thomas said with a laugh. “But that was nice. It was kind of funny and I just kind of laughed at it.”
Thomas is only a junior but because he excels at so many different facets of the game, his name has been a fixture in NBA mock drafts for a while now. The multi-talented 6-3 guard and proud son of Omaha, is sort of a Swiss army knife kind of player. What do you need, points? Rebounds? Assists? Steals? Thomas can deliver. In fact whenever Creighton’s season comes to a close this year, Thomas will have scored more than 1,100 points, grabbed better than 450 rebounds, dished over 250 assists and swiped over 130 steals in his three seasons Creighton.
Not bad for a guy who wasn’t sure he could cut it playing at the high Division I level when he was in high school.
“Yeah I thought that, but I think everybody has that thought sometimes,” said Thomas, who scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out eight assists and logged five steals in the Bluejays’ 82-57 victory over DePaul Tuesday night. “That’s why you have to work hard.”
Thomas had always been a worker, which is why Creighton head coach Greg McDermott started recruiting Thomas at Omaha’s Benson High School several seasons before he would even be able to play college ball.
“They were kind of recruiting me as a sophomore and they would come to a few of my games and invite me to go play pickup with some of the guys (at Creighton),” Thomas said. “I knew this was where I wanted to end up. They were always kind of nagging me about (coming to Creighton) so I thought they must see something in me if they’re going to keep nagging on me about coming here. But it all worked out for everybody.”
Except, perhaps, Creighton’s opponents who have had to deal with the multi-threat Thomas on a regular basis.
Villanova was one of his more recent victims when Thomas went 5-of-7 from 3-point range and finished with 24 points in the Bluejays’ 89-83 overtime win over the Wildcats last Saturday, Creighton’s fourth win over a ranked team this season. The victory, Thomas said, gave the Bluejays the emotional boost they needed after three straight BIG EAST losses.
“Now we’re exactly where we want to be, having good momentum for all the guys, especially the young guys,” Thomas said. “Momentum and confidence are good for everybody. Now we know we’re rolling right now and we have to just keep pushing off of that.”
That victory, played in front of 18,321 fans at The Link, ignited a party atmosphere all over Omaha and especially back on Creighton’s campus. Not that Thomas noticed, though.
“I just went back to my room and laid there,” Thomas said. “I was still sore from the game. I played a lot that game. But as far as what everyone was telling me, it was pretty hyped. The school was kind of lit and everybody was having fun.”
You ask Thomas to describe himself as a player and you would think you were talking to a non-scholarship walk-on. There is no bravado whatsoever. Just a rather humble response.,
“I really just hustle. I really just try my best to make my teammates comfortable and make sure they’re getting their shots up.” Thomas said. “That’s what I really focus on. Some of the points I get are just garbage points. like off loose balls and lucky rebounds. stuff like that. I just try my best and that’s all I can do. I just try and work harder than my opponent.”
Thomas does light up, however, when he was asked what it’s like being part of one of the BIG EAST’s top tandems with Foster.
“Playing with Marcus, sometimes I just like to watch him play and take shots,” Thomas said. “I know that once we get it going with him, it’s going to be a long night for the opposing team. Marcus is like my big brother, all the seniors are like my big brothers. Having Marcus on the team is a blessing.”
It would be a blessing for Creighton Nation if Thomas were to forego the NBA and return to Creighton for his senior season. With the graduations of Foster and Hegner, he would be the undisputed heart of the Bluejays next season. He might even get his own Bobblehead Day. Who knows? But that’s a decision Thomas said he will make sometime after the season. For now, he has rather grandiose plans for Creighton and it starts with next week’s BIG EAST Tournament.
“To me this has been one of the most up and down seasons,” Thomas said. “You still have your Villanovas and Xaviers. Villanova lost a few but they’re still very good but you never know what can happen in the tournament because you got other teams that are real close, too. So I think it’s kind of wide open for any team at this point. Some teams are playing better than they have all year coming into the tournament. I just feel like every team has momentum right now going into the tournament and that’s what’s going to make it fun.”
And once Creighton’s exits New York after the tournament, Thomas said he hopes for an extended stay in March Madness.
“I think we can make a good run,” Thomas said. “Growing up you always dream about stuff like this, making it to the tournament and going deep. You don’t want to just get in it and lose in the first round. You want to make a long run and be our best. You only get this chance once as a Division I athlete so you have to make the most of it and live up to it. But I believe in my team. We all work hard and all our guys are a lot more confident with the way we’ve been playing lately. I feel like everybody is going to give it their all and have our seniors and everybody go out on a high note.”