Southland Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

3. Erik Thomas

A 6’5 forward from Wesley Chapel, Florida, Thomas is another Southland player who took the long road to success at the D1 level. He would spend one season each at East Georgia State and Baton Rouge CC before arriving at New Orleans in 2015. The Privateers hadn’t had much success in recent seasons and had only just joined the Southland a few seasons ago, but Thomas helped turn things around.

During his junior year, Thomas averaged 11.8 points and 6.9 rebounds, starting just over half the games for the Privateers in a decent first season. The team struggled but Thomas showed signs of brilliance, with a number of double-doubles late in the year. Things were largely different the following year, as Thomas would lead New Orleans to both the regular season and tournament titles in the Southland. He averaged 19.3 points and 7.8 rebounds a game as the top scorer and rebounder, pacing the Privateers to a 20-win campaign.

Thomas’s senior season truly was something special. Not only did he spearhead that turnaround for the Privateers, but he was named both Southland Player of the Year and Tournament MVP. He was the conference’s leader in field goal percentage and offensive rebounding while boasting great scoring numbers and other impressive metrics. Thomas had just two seasons at New Orleans but surely made his time count, delivering the program’s most recent trip to the Big Dance.