LSU Basketball: Cameron Thomas excels in Tigers SEC opening win

Cameron Thomas produced at a high level offensively against Texas A&M

Cameron Thomas has been scoring the basketball at high level recently, and that did not stop against Texas A&M on Tuesday night when he netted 32 points on 12-21 shooting (57%) which included 5 three-point baskets. Prior to LSU’s contest against Texas A&M, Thomas had accumulated 137 total points and was averaging an astounding 22.8 points per game.

While I am sure that many individuals were impressed that Thomas’ game was quickly translating to the collegiate level, there were definitely a few Individuals that disregarded most of Thomas’ outstanding performances, because he did not “face any legitimate competition”.

Before Thomas notched his career-high in points against Texas A&M, his 4 highest scoring outings came against SIU-Edwardsville (when he scored 27 points on 10-21 shooting in a 94-81 win), Saint Louis (when he scored 25 points on 10-18 shooting in an 85-81 loss to a team that I believe will win the Atlantic 10 conference), SE Louisiana (when he scored 21 points on 4-10 shooting in a 96-43 win), and Nicholls State (when he scored 29 points on 10-21 shooting in a 86-80 win).

So as you can probably infer, there were some individuals that tried to argue that Thomas’ 25-point performance against Saint Louis was the only one that mattered because it occurred when the Tigers were competing against a squad that is most likely NCAA Tournament bound. After making that observation, those same individuals must have arrived at the conclusion that there was no guarantee that Thomas would be as effective when he finally faced an SEC opponent.

However, against Texas A&M Thomas picked up right where he left off and demonstrated that he can be a prolific scorer when he encounters a conference foe. The one thing that I really like about Thomas’ game, is his refusal to second guess himself when he is on the floor.

With just over seven minutes to play in the first half, Ja’Vonte Smart received a pass from Thomas on the right-wing and immediately fired a pass back over to Thomas at the top of the key. As Smart’s pass was making it’s way over to Thomas, Savion Flagg decided to slide over and approach Thomas with both of his straight up in the air (to deter Thomas from firing a three). However, Flagg left too much space between him and Thomas, which is the one thing that you cannot do when you are defending Thomas.

Did Thomas hesitate when he received the ball? Or put the ball on the floor even though he would have given Flagg the upper hand? Of course not, because Thomas understands how lethal of a player he can be when he allows his instincts to take over. That is why Thomas instantly exploded off the ground and released a three-point jumper that hit nothing but the net.

In the very beginning of the second half, Thomas utilized the down screen that Darius Days provided him with, and caught a pass from Trendon Watford at the top of the key as his defender (who was LaDamien Bradford) was trailing him.

As Bradford was closing out on him out of control, Thomas pump-faked, ripped the ball through to his right while making sure that Bradford’s left hand didn’t touch the ball, took two dribbles toward the right elbow, and then took one exaggerated step backward in order to create separation from Quenton Jackson (who came over to assist Bradford).

Did Thomas attempt to pass out of his shot when he saw Jackson closing in on him? No, because Thomas believes that he can hit any shot, no matter how high the level of difficulty may be. That explains why Thomas didn’t allow Jackson’s outstretched right hand to stop him from rising up and sinking a long two-point jumper.

I have a feeling that Thomas is going to put together multiple 30+ point performances in SEC play, which will only make it tougher for opposing SEC squads to defeat LSU down the road.