Will Tramain Thomas be able to walk on his college basketball team?

[Guest stevenash]

Dicky-  The heigth/or lack thereof comment on Thomas interests me.  Put Jcovan Brown (who most everyone believes  is some sort of basketball God) next to Thomas.  There is very little difference.  Athletically speaking, I would give the edge to Thomas.  Attitudinally, there is no question who wins.  Why is it you believe Jcovan can play at UT but Thomas could only play at a mid major?   What qualities and abilities does Brown have Thomas does not?   Can Brown run faster?  ( wanna bet?)  Can he jump higher?(wanna bet?) Is he stronger?(that question should not even be posed) The next thing you will bring up is shooting but most of that is a fairy tale.  I have watched Brown play many times and his shooting percentages (I'm talking real numbers instead of style points) are no more impressive than Thomas's if even as impressive.  Analyze  the ability to defend and the "controlled and productive intensity" of each,and I don't believe you can make the case it is even close.

[highsky]

Dicky-  The heigth/or lack thereof comment on Thomas interests me.  Put Jcovan Brown (who most everyone believes  is some sort of basketball God) next to Thomas.  There is very little difference.  Athletically speaking, I would give the edge to Thomas.  Attitudinally, there is no question who wins.  Why is it you believe Jcovan can play at UT but Thomas could only play at a mid major?   What qualities and abilities does Brown have Thomas does not?   Can Brown run faster?  ( wanna bet?)  Can he jump higher?(wanna bet?) Is he stronger?(that question should not even be posed) The next thing you will bring up is shooting but most of that is a fairy tale.  I have watched Brown play many times and his shooting percentages (I'm talking real numbers instead of style points) are no more impressive than Thomas's if even as impressive.  Analyze  the ability to defend and the "controlled and productive intensity" of each,and I don't believe you can make the case it is even close.

I  have to support DickVitale because a lot of the points he says make a lot of sense.  Now I don't know J'covan (have heard of him, but never seen him play) so I can't make the comparison, but let's take Texas' D.J. Augustin.  He is basically the same size as TT (Augustin is 6'0", 180lbs).  Someone said "he could handle the point in D1 just fine."  Now comparing TT to DJAug, no comparison (even as a freshman)...DJ is one of the absolute best points I have ever seen and TT can't pass as well nor dribble as well.  TT is probably just as smart as DJ, but shooting-wise...no go.  Free throws are inconsistent for both, but I still give the edge to DJ.  Defense is probably a toss-up, as DJ is probably a little quicker, but TT can jump.  Now this is probably not a fair comparison, but that is what you would get if he was to play high D-1 basketball (someone brought up Dugat...he is a very good player that played at a 4a school and just happpened to play football too.  I could have told you years ago that Dugat would do better in basketball than football, just as I am saying that TT will do better in football than basketball.  So I would agree with DickVitale if he was to play mid-major like Southland Conference, he would do ok.  Not a diss on his BB skills, however, I am in awe of his FB skills...certainly more impressive than BB, I mean, what did he get like 12 INTs?

[Guest stevenash]

Kind of tough to compare a three sport high school senior to a 1 sport college sophomore. 

[Bucof2010]

Dicky-  The heigth/or lack thereof comment on Thomas interests me.  Put Jcovan Brown (who most everyone believes  is some sort of basketball God) next to Thomas.  There is very little difference.  Athletically speaking, I would give the edge to Thomas.  Attitudinally, there is no question who wins.  Why is it you believe Jcovan can play at UT but Thomas could only play at a mid major?  What qualities and abilities does Brown have Thomas does not?  Can Brown run faster?  ( wanna bet?)  Can he jump higher?(wanna bet?) Is he stronger?(that question should not even be posed) The next thing you will bring up is shooting but most of that is a fairy tale.  I have watched Brown play many times and his shooting percentages (I'm talking real numbers instead of style points) are no more impressive than Thomas's if even as impressive.  Analyze  the ability to defend and the "controlled and productive intensity" of each,and I don't believe you can make the case it is even close.

I  have to support DickVitale because a lot of the points he says make a lot of sense.  Now I don't know J'covan (have heard of him, but never seen him play) so I can't make the comparison, but let's take Texas' D.J. Augustin.  He is basically the same size as TT (Augustin is 6'0", 180lbs).  Someone said "he could handle the point in D1 just fine."  Now comparing TT to DJAug, no comparison (even as a freshman)...DJ is one of the absolute best points I have ever seen and TT can't pass as well nor dribble as well.  TT is probably just as smart as DJ, but shooting-wise...no go.  Free throws are inconsistent for both, but I still give the edge to DJ.  Defense is probably a toss-up, as DJ is probably a little quicker, but TT can jump.  Now this is probably not a fair comparison, but that is what you would get if he was to play high D-1 basketball (someone brought up Dugat...he is a very good player that played at a 4a school and just happpened to play football too.  I could have told you years ago that Dugat would do better in basketball than football, just as I am saying that TT will do better in football than basketball.  So I would agree with DickVitale if he was to play mid-major like Southland Conference, he would do ok.  Not a diss on his BB skills, however, I am in awe of his FB skills...certainly more impressive than BB, I mean, what did he get like 12 INTs?

U must be confused about the free throw thing pretty sure 95 to %100 is about as consistent as it gets

[highsky]

Kind of tough to compare a three sport high school senior to a 1 sport college sophomore. 

you were trying to compare TT to J'Covan Brown, who, from what I hear, is just a one sport high school senior.

Dicky-  The heigth/or lack thereof comment on Thomas interests me.  Put Jcovan Brown (who most everyone believes  is some sort of basketball God) next to Thomas.  There is very little difference.  Athletically speaking, I would give the edge to Thomas.  Attitudinally, there is no question who wins.  Why is it you believe Jcovan can play at UT but Thomas could only play at a mid major?   What qualities and abilities does Brown have Thomas does not?   Can Brown run faster?  ( wanna bet?)  Can he jump higher?(wanna bet?) Is he stronger?(that question should not even be posed) The next thing you will bring up is shooting but most of that is a fairy tale.  I have watched Brown play many times and his shooting percentages (I'm talking real numbers instead of style points) are no more impressive than Thomas's if even as impressive.  Analyze  the ability to defend and the "controlled and productive intensity" of each,and I don't believe you can make the case it is even close.

I  have to support DickVitale because a lot of the points he says make a lot of sense.  Now I don't know J'covan (have heard of him, but never seen him play) so I can't make the comparison, but let's take Texas' D.J. Augustin.  He is basically the same size as TT (Augustin is 6'0", 180lbs).  Someone said "he could handle the point in D1 just fine."  Now comparing TT to DJAug, no comparison (even as a freshman)...DJ is one of the absolute best points I have ever seen and TT can't pass as well nor dribble as well.  TT is probably just as smart as DJ, but shooting-wise...no go.  Free throws are inconsistent for both, but I still give the edge to DJ.  Defense is probably a toss-up, as DJ is probably a little quicker, but TT can jump.  Now this is probably not a fair comparison, but that is what you would get if he was to play high D-1 basketball (someone brought up Dugat...he is a very good player that played at a 4a school and just happpened to play football too.  I could have told you years ago that Dugat would do better in basketball than football, just as I am saying that TT will do better in football than basketball.  So I would agree with DickVitale if he was to play mid-major like Southland Conference, he would do ok.  Not a diss on his BB skills, however, I am in awe of his FB skills...certainly more impressive than BB, I mean, what did he get like 12 INTs?

U must be confused about the free throw thing pretty sure 95 to %100 is about as consistent as it gets

Sorry, I have to disagree, but the other night, he didn't shoot his FT's well against Hardin.  It was like 50-60% for him.  I believe that is more the norm for him than a fluke, given his shooting form at the line.  I'm sorry if this offends, but I can't believe he shoots at a 95% rate.

[bob_sakamano]

Tramain was 14 of 19 from the FT line Friday night against Hardin.

[highsky]

Tramain was 14 of 19 from the FT line Friday night against Hardin.

I think he missed a couple more than that, but 74% is a long way from 95%.

[Bucof2010]

The first game against kountze he was 14 of 14 so that makes up for the one game u saw him miss 5 of 19 which would be somthing to brag about not sure how you can talk down on stats like that.

[highsky]

The first game against kountze he was 14 of 14 so that makes up for the one game u saw him miss 5 of 19 which would be somthing to brag about not sure how you can talk down on stats like that.

I am not "talking down" his stats nor am I dismissing that he is an extremely good player, but the original question was "could he walk on his college basketball team."  My answer is no if you are talking about Arkansas.  I am glad he had a perfect free throw percentage against Kountze since perfection is something we always shoot for.  However, someone on here brought up the idea that he shoots "95% to 100%".  If he took 200 free throws, he would have to make 190 to have a 95% FT percentage.  If someone had said that he shoots 74%, that is more believeable.  Going back to the comparison to DJ Augustin, he makes 78% while shooting in front of fans that wave towels, signs, and whatnot...that is why I gave the edge to him. 

Like footballfan says, it is a moot point because he is playing football and that is where his talent lies...he is one of the best 2A players I have ever seen on the gridiron.

[footballfan5261]

The first game against kountze he was 14 of 14 so that makes up for the one game u saw him miss 5 of 19 which would be somthing to brag about not sure how you can talk down on stats like that.

I am not "talking down" his stats nor am I dismissing that he is an extremely good player, but the original question was "could he walk on his college basketball team."  My answer is no if you are talking about Arkansas.  I am glad he had a perfect free throw percentage against Kountze since perfection is something we always shoot for.  However, someone on here brought up the idea that he shoots "95% to 100%".  If he took 200 free throws, he would have to make 190 to have a 95% FT percentage.  If someone had said that he shoots 74%, that is more believeable.  Going back to the comparison to DJ Augustin, he makes 78% while shooting in front of fans that wave towels, signs, and whatnot...that is why I gave the edge to him. 

Like footballfan says, it is a moot point because he is playing football and that is where his talent lies...he is one of the best 2A players I have ever seen on the gridiron.

thank you highsky. good post

[Guest DickVitale]

You don't know whoever "they" his doesn't either...Like I said this is pointless and unnecessary. You are another internet thug, because if you saw me in person you would be friendly and shaking hands and such...all of this anger would not show...guarantee that...So if you wanna be an internet tough guy, be my guest.

Man, I would like to respond but 1) I don't know what your are saying and 2) I don't know if it is directed at me.  Can you translate this?

I wasn't talking to you, and I probably was typing too fast anyway...

Now, If you guys think that Tremain Thomas is a better basketball prospect than J'Covan Brown, then you are really kidding yourselves and your basketball IQ must improve....Listen, Tremain is such a great kid and I am sure that coaches would love to have him and all of that, but basketball ability, court presence, other basketball intangibles, J'Covan is in another league...literally..Yes he needs discipline, and all of those things that make players complete, but If you ask all 12 Big 12 coaches who they would rather take a chance on based on basketball talent alone, and I gurantee you J'Covan is the pick HANDS DOWN..You guys are letting how you feel about the kid affect your judgement of him.  Thats not only unfair to J'Covan, but it is just plain...dumb.  You guys KNOW how good J'Covan is....But really do not want to embrace it due to your personal feelings, so you say something ridiculous like TT is just as good basketball wise, and that is just....dumb..Get mad, but that is the simple truth.

[shorttexas1]

You don't know whoever "they" his doesn't either...Like I said this is pointless and unnecessary. You are another internet thug, because if you saw me in person you would be friendly and shaking hands and such...all of this anger would not show...guarantee that...So if you wanna be an internet tough guy, be my guest.

Man, I would like to respond but 1) I don't know what your are saying and 2) I don't know if it is directed at me.  Can you translate this?

I wasn't talking to you, and I probably was typing too fast anyway...

Now, If you guys think that Tremain Thomas is a better basketball prospect than J'Covan Brown, then you are really kidding yourselves and your basketball IQ must improve....Listen, Tremain is such a great kid and I am sure that coaches would love to have him and all of that, but basketball ability, court presence, other basketball intangibles, J'Covan is in another league...literally..Yes he needs discipline, and all of those things that make players complete, but If you ask all 12 Big 12 coaches who they would rather take a chance on based on basketball talent alone, and I gurantee you J'Covan is the pick HANDS DOWN..You guys are letting how you feel about the kid affect your judgement of him.  Thats not only unfair to J'Covan, but it is just plain...dumb.  You guys KNOW how good J'Covan is....But really do not want to embrace it due to your personal feelings, so you say something ridiculous like TT is just as good basketball wise, and that is just....dumb..Get mad, but that is the simple truth.

Church! Tabernacle!! Santuary!!! 

I agree totally!

[Guest DickVitale]

Oh yeah shortt, thanks, I forgot to add that.......CHUUUCH!!

[shorttexas1]

I agree with you on the fact that Football was the right choice, because I totally think he will be playing on Sundays in about 4 to 5 years, but I couldn't disagree more with you on your comments of where he could play basketball at if he concentrated on it.  First, Baylor wanted him to come and play both football and basketball, so there is one Big 12 school.  Secondly, he played big time AAU ball since his Jr. High days in Houston with some of the best squads traveling all over the nation. 

Don't get me wrong, I never thought he was a Univ. of Texas, KU, or UK type player, but I personally think a place like Texas Tech would have been perfect for him if he would have played Basketball.  And you really can't compare Donahue, Netherley, are any other small school kid to Tramain.  Simply comparing apples to oranges.  I think he would have been a Dugat (Dayton player at Baylor) type player.  Good career at a average Big 12 school.

Why be a good D1 Basketball player when you can be a Great D1 football player... possible pro!

[shorttexas1]

That argument makes no sense, because he does compete with upper level talent in AAU.  Not to mention 6'1" is not undersized for a true PG at any level in college.

He is not a true PG!

[Dr_Hoops_08]

Lets see can anyone find a list of players from lower classifications (3A-under) to go on and play at a MAJOR D-1 school????

Imagine if J'Covan played 2a ball! That would just be plum rediculous, and embarrassing to everyone else...lol

Come on ya'll it didnt take me that long to realize it, and just quit being so stubborn, DickeyV knows a thing or too bout what he's talking about...And unlike other people he doesnt care if his opinion offends someone or hurts their feelings, And every statement he makes is a rational and educated one, Is it his fault that he voices his opinion??? That he doesnt worry about stepping on peoples toes??? And unlike alot of people, he thinks before he speaks, he doesnt ever contradict himself, and he admits when he's wrong, and for people to call him an IDIOT, ya'll are just plum #@%&ing rediculous!

IM OUT!!!! ;D

[Guest DickVitale]

Hey shortt, that is what I was saying too, but this guy wanted to get on here and be another internet tough guy, I guess, because I didnt say what he wanted me to say about his boy, but, people on here know I tell it like it is....Then he called me an idiot, and I had to let him know that everybody else gonna play lip wrestle with him, but if he want it with me, he gon' smell my cologne!! Issey Miyake or some Bar #9 cause I do not play! chuuuch!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Folks that was just an insert from a Pimp C interview...If you have heard it before, you know what I am talking about...It was quite funny...

[Guest DickVitale]

Lets see can anyone find a list of players from lower classifications (3A-under) to go on and play at a MAJOR D-1 school????

Imagine if J'Covan played 2a ball! That would just be plum rediculous, and embarrassing to everyone else...lol

Come on ya'll it didnt take me that long to realize it, and just quit being so stubborn, DickeyV knows a thing or too bout what he's talking about...And unlike other people he doesnt care if his opinion offends someone or hurts their feelings, And every statement he makes is a rational and educated one, Is it his fault that he voices his opinion??? That he doesnt worry about stepping on peoples toes??? And unlike alot of people, he thinks before he speaks, he doesnt ever contradict himself, and he admits when he's wrong, and for people to call him an IDIOT, ya'll are just plum #@%&ing rediculous!

IM OUT!!!! ;D

CHUUUUCH!  8)....

[shorttexas1]

Hey shortt, that is what I was saying too, but this guy wanted to get on here and be another internet tough guy, I guess, because I didnt say what he wanted me to say about his boy, but, people on here know I tell it like it is....Then he called me an idiot, and I had to let him know that everybody else gonna play lip wrestle with him, but if he want it with me, he gon' smell my cologne!! Issey Miyake or some Channell #9 cause I do not play! chuuuch!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Folks that was just an insert from a Pimp C interview...If you have heard it before, you know what I am talking about...It was quite funny...

Get it right!!  I watched Tramain and the kid is special.... in football!!! JCovain has BBall skillz that he doesn't fully exploit because of his personnality.... But just watch him move...  Its almost silky...  TT is not silky... JB though he highly p!sses me off is a BBALL player and is better than TT.

[Guest DickVitale]

That is not even a debatable issue...Certain people in SE Texas really hate to see a kid who has some problems, but is so dang talented, turn it around and make it..Certain people... :..If you read some of the other threads you will see what I am talking about...."He won't EVER play at UT!!" Wonder if he had signed with Grambling, Howard, Hampton, or Southern, if they would have been as passionate about him NOT going there??? hmmmm...I wonder...Anyway, I STILL wish him the best, and back to this thread....Its not a debatable issue basketball wise between him and Thomas...Not even close...As Dr. Hoops said, J'Covan would literally average 60 or more playing 2A competition...AS I WOULD HAVE TOO!! ;D.....chuuuuch!

[UKCats]

Allright everyone needs to get their heads out of the clouds and re-read the thread title. Could TT walk on his college basketball team. I don't understand why you would want to compare TT to DJ at UT or why Dicky is ready to call the NBA(sacrcastically speaking). No one ever said the kid would be the best PG on his team or that he would even be in the top 15. Could he be the kid that comes in at the end of a game during a 30 point blow out. Or the kid who makes one heck of a practice player. I think he could. Stop comparing him to the best when the question was could he simply make the team.

[Guest DickVitale]

Thank you UK!! If you look at my ORIGINAL answer, I DID answer THAT question...I said the football coach would not go for it...Other people made it a personal crusade for class 2A justice!...

[highsky]

UK ...for me, the answer is still no because Arkansas' roundball team is comprised of around 12-15 players and the bball coaches expect every one of their players to be a contributor whether it is now or later.  They don't want people to take up space for four years as a bench player even though the scholly might come from football.  They are going to fill the team with players that will be 100% committed to basketball, not someone who comes in mid-January and plays only 2-3 minutes a game or less.

I am going to say it now...I have the utmost respect for TT and what he has done for EC.  I am happy of the fact that he came from SE Texas and a small school to earn a scholarship from a prestigious SEC school for his football skills.  I have a feeling we will be seeing him on national TV when Arkansas plays LSU or Auburn.

[UKCats]

Thank you UK!! If you look at my ORIGINAL answer, I DID answer THAT question...I said the football coach would not go for it...Other people made it a personal crusade for class 2A justice!...

And I totally agreed with ya Dicky in my previous posts. . .I just think the kid is a better than average ball player on both the turf and the hardwood. He is more suited for the gridiron, but a good round ball player either way.

As far as highsky is concerned. . .I am glad you know the arkansas coaching staff so personally that you have mastered their recruiting assignments. Big name SEC Basketball schools even have bench warmers who don't produce much. Kentucky has a little short 5' 2" point guard that only plays in blow outs and he doesn't produce much, but they still take him everywhere they go. I guess that contradicts your point.

[shorttexas1]

He could walk on but he would be putting a lucrative football career in jeopardy!!  And the fact that most big schools only have 2 or 3 walk-ons doesn't make his chances good.... And the fact that those two or three walk-ons are putting thier ALL into bball (not two sports) they probally would beat him out!