Butler Basketball: 2021 recruit Pierce Thomas commits to the Dawgs

Butler basketball just snagged its second in-state recruit for the 2021 class with the commitment of Pierce Thomas. He is a highly-touted athlete.

Butler basketball head coach LaVall Jordan has been sensational on the recruiting trail ever since taking over the top job for the program. He snagged a pair of strong prospects from both the 2018 and 2019 classes, put together the best group in program history for 2020, and has already started the 2021 class with two in-state commitments. The most recent of these is Pierce Thomas (Brownsburg, IN), who announced his intention to play for Butler on Feb. 27th.

Thomas recently completed his official visit to campus and was sold on wanting to further his basketball career in his home state. He specifically mentioned to me that “the great culture and family that is Butler [led me to the decision]. The coaching staff prioritized me and showed me how I could develop in the butler system. Also, the great newer business school [was important].”

A 6-foot-5 wing with out-of-this-world athleticism, Thomas looks poised to be a major piece of the puzzle for Butler in the future. Coach Jordan has emphasized targeting high character players with great athleticism and the ability to play multiple positions since taking over for the program.

As Indiana’s state champion in the long jump (and 8th-place finisher in the 200m) in 2019, Thomas certainly fits the mold. Although he is not expecting to continue track and field at the collegiate level, those skills translate to the basketball court. There should be no question that Thomas is one of the best athletes in the entire 2021 recruiting class.

He is tremendously bouncy while attacking the rim and also excels on the glass as a result. Due to his high-level athleticism and quick instincts, he projects as a superb defender and his all-around offensive game is blossoming as well. Thomas has displayed significant improvement with his 3-point shot during his junior season at Brownsburg and it feels as though he is just scratching the surface. He has an incredibly high ceiling.

In his own words, Thomas described his playing style as such: “I’m an athletic playmaker who can guard multiple positions. Recently, I have improved my shot and continue to do so. I’m working on continuing to work on my ball-handling and being more of a potent scorer.”

Thomas will join fellow in-state commit Jayden Taylor in Butler’s early 2021 recruiting class. Both players project as wings that can be strong contributors on both ends of the floor. Taylor told me that Thomas contacted him prior to announcing his commitment as well so the two are already familiar with one another:

"“The conversation was very simple and straightforward. He [Thomas] texted me and said “what’s up” and in my head I kinda already knew where it was headed. I responded back and he said “I’m committing.” He was like i can’t wait to kill at Butler with you and let’s be great!”"

Taylor also mentioned that he “likes the fit. We’re gonna play well together. He gives me a good athletic target on the wing. He is a crazy athlete so I’m confident I’ll be able to find him and set him up for some buckets.”

Thomas then echoed that statement when asked about the fit as well: “I see us working well together. Jayden is an elite scorer and very talented. We definitely complement each other’s games.”

Coach Jordan has done an excellent job prioritizing the Hoosier State over the past several months and has landed two of his top targets. Thomas mentioned that “it means a lot to stay home and play for some of the best basketball fans in the world. Indiana fans are well informed and know great basketball!”

With regard to the other top priorities for Butler in this class, Brooks Barnhizer is another name to know out of IN on Butler’s radar while David Joplin (WI) and John Poulakidas (IL) are also being targeted.

Butler is definitely off to a hot start with regard to the 2021 class with two local commitments. It appears as though Coach Jordan is parlaying his excellent work in the 2020 class with a strong season on-the-court to make an impact on the top recruits in the area.