Villanova's Thomas - set for stardom

New Jersey high school standout hopes to make Big 5 faithful forget all about Kobe Bryant Roughly one year ago, a teenager from the Chicago area nearly single-handedly turned the basketball world upside down. Then a senior at Farragut (Ill.) High School, Kevin Garnett took the trend of declaring early for the Natioal Basketball Association draft to a new level. He decided to skip college entirely and go straight from high school to the pros. What scared many basketball analysts was not just the decision of one high schooler, but the impact that choice could have on the next wave of phenoms. Expected to lead that next high school class were Tim Thomas and Kobe Bryant. Thomas, a 6-foot-10 forward from Paterson (N.J.) Catholic High School, and Bryant, a 6-foot-6 guard from Lower Merion (Pa.) High School, both hinted that they were going to follow in Garnett's footsteps and jump straight to the NBA despite the wooings of many of the nation's top collegiate coaches. Many local hoops fans were rooting for Bryant to stay in the Philadelphia area and attend La Salle, where his father was an assistant coachuntil last month. But Bryant opted for the early paycheck and declared himself eligible for next month's NBA draft, signing with sneaker giant Adidas and the William Morris Agency. However, Big 5 fans did not lose out entirely, as Thomas chose to sign with Villanova on May 6. The Wildcats had emerged as a late front-runner in the stakes to land Thomas, who was considered by many to be the top recruit in the nation once he decided to hold off on going pro. In the end, Thomas chose Villanova over Seton Hall, after eliminating Rutgers and a number of top programs earlier in the process. "I'm relieved that it's over," Thomas told the Newark Star-Ledger. "I'm happy with my decision. I think it's good academically. I like the area. It's away from home, but close enough so my friends and relatives can see me play." With Thomas averaging 29.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.0 blocked shots per contest, Paterson Catholic ran off a 22-5 record and advanced to the quarterfinals of the North Jersey Parochial B championships. Thomas earned first-team All-American honors as a senior from a number of publications, including USA Today. With center Jason Lawson and power forward Chuck Kornegay returning to Villanova for their senior years, Thomas is expected to see the majority of his playing time at small forward this year, where he should enjoy a significant height advantage against most opponents. The Wildcats will need to find some new sources of offense due to the loss of All-American guard Kerry Kittles to the NBA and three-point ace Eric Eberz to graduation. Those players could not cure 'Nova's NCAA tourney woes. Thomas, who handles the ball well and talks about having a "complete game" may be part of the answer. And with many of the Big East's top players moving on to the NBA this year -- including Connecticut's Ray Allen, Georgetown's Allen Iverson and Syracuse's John Wallace -- Villanova is expected to again challenge for the conference title. There has been much speculation that Thomas's coach at Paterson Catholic, Jim Salmon, who is also his cousin, will be offered an assistant coaching position at Villanova in the near future, filling the opening that was left when John Leonard accepted the head coaching job at ManhattanCollege, Lappas' old stomping grounds. But Salmon insists that he did not use his cousin as leverage for the coveted assistant job, . "I offered this to them: 'I'm aware you have a position open. Whether you're interested in me or not, I'd prefer you not ask me one question about it until after Tim signs,' " Salmon told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "Do I expect them now to call? That's up to your speculation. I don't know. If the thing is they had to sign me to get him, that obviously wasn't what happened." Since the Wildcats no longer play a full Big 5 schedule, only Penn and St. Joseph's will get to see Thomas next year in City Series action. In fact, Temple and La Salle may never get a chance to play against Thomas, if he decides to turn pro after his freshman year. Jim Salmon, Thomas's coach at Paterson Catholic, has indicated that Thomas may only spend a year or two in college before turning pro. The rich seem to be getting richer in the land of Big 5 hoops. Rather tahn have Kobe Bryant revitalize Speedy Morris' debilitated La Salle program, the Wildcats, semmingly eons ahead of everyone else. have landed the top recruit. And if he lives up to the hype, as big an if as they come, city basketball fans might be saying, "Kobe Who?"