Western Kentucky Basketball: Pancake Thomas transfers to Hilltoppers

Rick Stansbury continues to build Western Kentucky basketball into an intriguing mid-major destination.

With new head coach Rick Stansbury on campus, Western Kentucky is no longer your typical mid-major. The former Mississippi State head coach and Texas A&M assistant has quickly developed the Hilltoppers into a program that is capable of reeling in high quality talent.

Stansbury did it again on Sunday evening as the Hilltoppers received a commitment from Hartford graduate transfer Pancake Thomas, according to CBS Sports. The 6’3″ guard will be eligible immediately in 2016-17.

Besides having one of the best names in all of college hoops, Thomas brings dynamic scoring and shooting ability to Western Kentucky. The Baton Rouge, LA native began his college career by playing two seasons with New Mexico. He didn’t have a large role with the Lobos, as he never averaged more than 15 minutes per game in a single season and was limited to less than four points per game.

After transferring to Hartford following the 2013-14 season, Thomas had the best year of his career in 2015-16.

Thomas averaged 18.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 34 minutes a night. Given how how reliant the Hawks were on his skills, his efficiency was rather impressive; 44 percent from the field overall, 43 percent from downtown and 83 percent from the free throw strike.

While Thomas was far and away Hartford’s leading scorer in 2015-16, he also took 153 more shot attempts than Jalen Ross, who was second on the team in that category.

That won’t be the case with Western Kentucky though, as Thomas will have adjust to a different role on the fly.

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He will be asked to score plenty of points this upcoming season, but the Hilltoppers also have other capable players who will need to get their fair share of shot attempts. That means the guard from Louisiana will likely need to improve his playmaking skills, while also continuing his shooting efficiency and his prowess on the glass.

Regardless of how impactful Thomas is in his lone season with the Hilltoppers, this is another excellent development for the Conference USA program.

The Hartford transfer is the third immediately eligible graduate student that Western Kentucky has reeled in this off-season. Junior Lomomba was the first to commit, coming over from a Providence program that has made three straight NCAA Tournaments.

Then there’s Que Johnson, who played two years at Washington State and opted to transfer to Western Kentucky after pulling his name out of the NBA Draft pool.

The Hilltoppers are projected to finish higher in the Conference USA standings this season (8th place last year), but 2016-17 is when the program could sky rocket into the conversation as one of the top mid-majors in the nation.

In 2017-18, the Hilltoppers add five-star center Mitchell Robinson, Buffalo transfer guard Lamonte Bearden and former Syracuse commit, power forward Moustapha Diagne.

Robinson is ranked 9th in ESPN’s top 100 and is a powerful defensive presence as an elite shot blocker. Bearden has played in two straight NCAA Tournaments with the Bulls and will have a year to get the Hilltoppers scheme down pat. And Diagne is a former four-star recruit who was ranked 58th in ESPN’s top 100 for the class of 2015.

Thomas is an excellent one year stop gap for the Hilltoppers, but this addition is more important when looking at the bigger picture.

Next: Colorado off-season questions

As long as Stansbury remains in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Hilltoppers are here to stay in the Conference USA.