NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Nebraska of last decade

4. Khyri Thomas – Creighton

A 6’3 guard from Omaha, Thomas is another fantastic hooper from Nebraska who didn’t have to go far to find collegiate success. He arrived on campus at Creighton in 2015, spending the next three seasons as an impactful player for the Bluejays, with significant strides on both sides of the ball.

He worked his way into the starting lineup quickly as a freshman and had a few breakout performances, including a 22-point game against Loyola-Chicago. He progressed and turned into a solid offensive player and dynamic defender for the Bluejays, helping them to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of the next two seasons. As a junior, he averaged 15.1 points per game, second-most on the Creighton roster, and put together a number of great performances, including 24 points in a win over eventual champion Villanova.

Not only did Thomas lead the conference in effective field goal percentage as a junior, but he was also named Big East Defensive Player of the Year in each of those final two seasons. He was also All-Big East Second Team in 2018, becoming one of the best defensive guards in recent memory in the conference. He skipped his final year of college and was a late first-round draft pick of the Detroit Pistons, though he currently continues his professional career overseas in Turkey.