The Clemson Tigers are having a down season so far this year, as they are 9-6 and their hopes of making the NCAA tournament are very slim. Recently, though, things are looking up as they have won their last two games in ACC play after losing the opener to North Carolina. Clemson also received some other good news on Wednesday afternoon as Texas A&M transfer Elijah Thomas has committed to Clemson, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
Thomas announced that he was transferring from Texas A&M just less than a month ago but was reportedly able to decide on a new school very quickly. He chose Clemson over Gonzaga, Nebraska, San Diego and Arizona State. Thomas is a 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward out of Lancaster, Texas, that was a four-star recruit and was ranked the 31st-best prospect in the 2015 recruiting class, according to Jeff Goodman and Jeff Borzello of ESPN.
Thomas was playing a healthy amount of minutes at the start of the season for the Aggies, but his role decreased after the first four games. In eight total games played, Thomas averaged 3.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 9.9 minutes before deciding to transfer. Thomas had nothing bad to say about Texas A&M or head coach Billy Kennedy but said he was just in search of a fresh start.
"I'm just hoping to find somewhere that I can get an opportunity to show what I can do. I have no bad feelings about anything. I appreciate everything Coach Kennedy and the staff did for me, and I'm hoping they are successful. Now I'm going to lean on my family and Coach Wes Grandstaff and find a place to start the next chapter of my career," said Thomas.
Thomas is a highly talented player that was part of a big-time recruiting class for a very good Texas A&M team, so his limited playing time doesn't come as a surprise. At Clemson, Thomas should be able to play a starring role and play against some top-notch ACC competition. Adding Thomas is huge for head coach Brad Brownell, as he looks to build up the Clemson program which has not been in the NCAA tournament since 2011. Thomas will be eligible to start playing for Clemson in December of 2016.
