Why LSU's Cam Thomas Will Be a First Round Pick, the First of the Will Wade Era
Over his four-year stint as the LSU basketball coach, Will Wade has seen Tremont Waters and Skylar Mays become NBA draft picks. Both were selected towards the end of the second round in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Naz Reid, Marlon Taylor, Kavell Bigby-Williams, Aaron Epps and Brandon Sampson have all signed professional contracts as well. But no LSU player since Ben Simmons in 2015 has been selected in the first round of the NBA draft.
Freshman guard Cam Thomas could be the player that breaks that trend for the Wade era as he's quickly gaining national attention for his lethal scoring. Before leaving the Ole Miss game with an ankle injury, Thomas was averaging a SEC high 24.8 points on 44% shooting from the field and 91% from the free throw line.
As Thomas gains more national acclaim, his draft stock continues to rise. In the first 2021 NBA mock draft released by The Athletic, draft analyst Sam Vecenie has Thomas going No. 16 overall, well within the first round threshold.
"Thomas has been one of the few true breakout freshmen this season across college hoops. Early in the season, evaluators were curious as to whether or not his performance against small schools would stand up against the best that the SEC has to offer. All Thomas did? He went out and dropped 60 points in two games against Florida and Texas A&M. Thomas is a high volume scorer who can get his shot basically at will. If you give him even the smallest bit of space, he can stop and pop from 3 with ease. He has a bit of a left-shot align that concerns some teams in regard to translation as it moves up levels, but his release is so quick and his range is so deep that I’m a bit less worried. The real concerns come everywhere else in Thomas’ game, as he doesn’t really impact it as a passer, defender or rebounder. This is a pure scorer, through and through, and he’ll need to show that he can round out his game going forward," Vecenie wrote.
Vecenie also had forward Trendon Watford going No. 59 overall at the end of the second round. While there is legitimate concern about what Thomas will be able to do at the next level outside of scoring, the ease at which he can put the ball in the hole is truly among the elite in college basketball.
To lead the SEC in scoring is one thing but to do it as a freshman making his first handful of starts in an unprecedented offseason is truly impressive. Even when his shot isn't falling, his ability to get to the free throw line and capitalize at an extremely efficient rate makes for an added layer to his offensive capabilities.
Thomas set the LSU record with 42 straight made free throws and came up just a few free throws short of the SEC record. While Will Wade labeled Thomas as questionable against Arkansas, there's no doubt that the freshman is just getting started.
“Just my preparation and rhythm. I am getting a better rhythm. For my preparation, I’ve been shooting shots before the game and in practice," Thomas said. "I’ve just been getting shots up on my own, so I feel like I’m in more of a rhythm now."
