Guys aren't running things as they should be. Poor shot selection.
....
Since he was a kid growing up in suburban Washington, D.C., Harvey Thomas had the dream. He wanted to be the next Jordan, the next Magic, the next Bird.
He was going to play in the National Basketball Association. He was going to be the next ... somebody.
Harvey Thomas is 26 years old and he's still chasing the dream, one that, in all likelihood, might be over.
The latest stop for the 6-foot-8 Thomas is the Continental Basketball Association's Albany Patroons and he'll be in uniform tonight when thePatroons play East Kentucky at 7.
During his minor-league odyssey, he has played in Las Vegas and Arkansas and Georgia and Yakima, Wash. He has also had overseas stints in Poland and Mexicoand Portugal. But there has been hardly a sniff from the NBA.
Maybe it's because of the Baylor thing.
In the summer of 2003, one of the ugliest incidents in the recent history of NCAA basketball occurred in Waco, Texas, when Baylor junior forward PatrickDennehy went missing and eventually was found dead from gunshot wounds.
For a time, Harvey Thomas was being mentioned as a person of interest in the case. He was eventually exonerated from any wrong doing when another formerBaylor player, Carlton Dotson, admitted to the crime. Dotson received a 35-year sentence.
Thomas is doing his own time. Five and a half years after the incident, he's still haunted by it. Thomas, who attended five high schools, was going tomake Baylor his fourth college (preceeded by Georgetown and two community colleges).
He had visited the Texas campus twice and both times was chaperoned by Dennehy. He had been on campus for a week for summer school classes when Dennehy wentmissing.
In a way, it seems like the summer of '03 was a long time ago. In other ways, he's reminded about it every day.
"If I go to the Internet to Google my stats, the first five stories up are about Baylor basketball, Baylor this," Thomas said Tuesday afternoonafter the Patroons practiced at Washington Avenue Armory.
Thomas declared himself eligible for the 2004 NBA draft after averaging 17 points for Baylor's depleted roster. No one took a chance on him. Since then,he has been to camps with both the Orlando Magic and the Washington Wizards.
Does he not get a chance because of Baylor or is he just not good enough?
"I definitely do," Thomas said when asked if he thinks he is being blackballed. "It might not be fair to say it, but I believe so. Idefinitely think it threw a red flag. It was over five years ago and the situation comes up to this day."
Thomas said it came up when he and his agent, Matt Rizzetta, were negotiating a deal to play in Lebanon.
"I would say it's 15-20 percent that has something to do with the stigma that followed him after the Baylor situation," Rizzetta said."But he may have left school too soon. He was caught up in a difficult situation at a young age."
Thomas may be destined to be a careerminor-leaguer, yet he smiled all through a 35-minute conversation Tuesday. Rizzetta said there have been six-figure offers to play overseas but they havedecided to test the NBA waters one more time.
They both think having Thomas play for the Patroons, which once served as a pipeline to the NBA, is the right way to go. After six games, he is leading theCBA in scoring with a 22.8 scoring average.
Maybe the NBA types will catch his act. Maybe they won't.
"I have no complaints about the situation I am in right now," Thomas said. "I think it's time for all the Baylor stuff to stop. I believeI am an NBA player but I'll never know unless I get the chance to prove it."
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Did not realize Harvey was playin right down the street..I'll have to see him play. Had such high hopes for him.
anyway let's get this thing back in the right direction