Racine J Times: Jake Thomas’ strong work ethic makes impression on coach

[Tugg Speedman]

Wanna know why Jake starts?
You have to read an out of town newspaper.


Jake Thomas’ strong work ethic makes impression on coach

http://journaltimes.com/sports/college/thomas-strong-work-ethic-makes-impression-on-coach/article_8b886b7e-6cf1-11e3-83e0-0019bb2963f4.html

As the ever-candid Buzz Williams answered questions from host Steve “The Homer” True on his weekly ESPN radio show Dec. 18, the subject turned to Racine’s Jake Thomas.

When Williams, the Marquette University men’s basketball coach, was asked to rate the senior guard’s performance as a first-time starter, he didn’t hesitate.

“Uh, below average,” Williams said.

“Because ...,” True followed.

“Because he’s not a starter,” Williams followed. “But he’s earned the right to start and nobody’s even come close to taking it from him.”

Translation: Williams was pushing emotional buttons with an assessment designed as separate messages to the 6-foot-3 Thomas and the rest of Marquette’s players.

Yes, he expected far more from a shooting specialist who had a .321 field-goal percentage at the time of Williams’ comments. And he was also informing his entire team that following Thomas’ work ethic would likely go a long way in their respective careers.

“He works every single day, he plays to the best of his ability every single day,” Williams said, “he plays perfectly to a scouting report, his brain functions when he’s on the floor and whether he makes a shot or doesn’t make a shot, they’re going to guard him as if he’s a catch-and-shoot guy.

“There’s value in that.”

Such is the essence of the 2009 St. Catherine’s High School graduate. No, Thomas isn’t the most talented player on the floor, but the drive he possesses has enabled him to do extraordinary things.

Like earning a scholarship in 2009 to South Dakota, where he ranks eighth in career treys at the school (178) despite playing there just two seasons.

Like making the bold decision to foresake that scholarship in 2011 so he could play closer to home and agreeing to be a walk-on when Marquette entered the picture late in his transfer process.

Like earning a scholarship in a matter of weeks because Williams respected his work ethic so much, having it revoked after he averaged just 1.8 points in 208 minutes last season and then getting it restored after star guard Vander Blue declared for the NBA draft as a junior.

And like coming out of nowhere to become a starter for a team that has struggled to a 7-5 record this season. As he tirelessly tries to improve his game, he’s also working on a master’s degree in leadership studies after earning a bachelor’s degree in corporate communications in August.

The point is this: Never place any limitations on this guy because that’s simply not in his mojo. And it started when Thomas was just a kid who refused to allow Wisconsin’s long, harsh winters to interfere with becoming the player he wanted to be.

“I remember when I was little, I would shovel the driveway and I would shoot all the time until it got dark out,” said Thomas, who was third-team Associated Press All-State as a senior at St. Catherine’s and started on the Angels’ 2007 and ’09 WIAA Division 3 championship teams. “I would make little hills (out of snow) in front of the rim so I could go up and dunk.

“I did a lot of crazy things when it came to basketball, no matter what the weather circumstance was. I was usually frozen and had to go inside and pour hot water on my hands.”

And as the years passed, Thomas developed into a force. Just ask his cousin, Matt Lojeski, a former standout at St. Catherine’s and Hawaii who plays for Olympiacos in Greece.

“Jake started getting bigger and better and started to hold his own on the court with us,” said the 28-year-old Lojeski, a two-time Belgian League MVP. “I can remember him calling me every year, how when I got home, things would be different and he would start beating me.

“We would play until he won a game or I saw the ball get punted to the backyard. We played very competitive games that made him want to get better.”

What separated Thomas was an outstanding jump shot that would be responsible for several signature moments.

Take March 19, 2009, when Thomas re-discovered the shot that had been off and went 7 for 11 from 3-point range in a 77-57 semifinal victory over Fall Creek in the Kohl Center at Madison. Thomas was pulled from the game with 1:52 left after he had scored 34 points — two short of the Division 3 record.

And then there was the night he set a program record at South Dakota when he made 10 3-pointers and scored 40 points in a 105-73 victory over Chicago State in the DakotaDome.

Thomas’ jump-shooting has been inconsistent this season, which Williams noted on his radio show.

“I’m somewhat surprised he hasn’t made more shots and I think that he will,” Williams said.

Three days later, Thomas responded with 17 points — his finest offensive game at Marquette — in a 75-68 loss to New Mexico in the MGM Grand Showcase at Las Vegas.

But Thomas, who averages 7.1 points and 2.2 rebounds, can’t be defined as just a shooter. His work ethic is too strong for him to be just be a one-dimensional player.

“I feel good with my defense,” Thomas said. “A lot of people assume that I can’t play defense, but I think I’ve done a good job of holding my man in check and being in good help position.”

Added Lojeski, “This year, I have been able to watch a lot of their games and I think he has really progressed as a defensive player.”

Not to mention pleasing a coach who isn’t too easy to please.

“It takes a lot for him to respect somebody,” Thomas said of Williams. “He expects you to be at your best every day. You can’t take a play off. Everybody’s watching.”

Especially a coach who saw so much in Thomas that others didn’t see.

[MU82]

Wanna know why Jake starts?
You have to read an out of town newspaper.

Wanna read a puff piece? You have to read a player's hometown newspaper.

[willie warrior]

Typical BUzzspeak BS. His performance is below average and he is not a starter, but I am starting him anyhow.

Translation: "I am going to start whoever the hell I want to, as I always have. Talent means nothing--it is all in who my pets are. Jake begged to come back after announcing he was leaving last year, and that deserves starting. Nobody can question what I do, because the slurpers(just like the media) will cover for me."

[leever]

Typical BUzzspeak BS. His performance is below average and he is not a starter, but I am starting him anyhow.

Translation: "I am going to start whoever the hell I want to, as I always have. Talent means nothing--it is all in who my pets are. Jake begged to come back after announcing he was leaving last year, and that deserves starting. Nobody can question what I do, because the slurpers(just like the media) will cover for me."

I understand your agenda, but you don't need to translate anything.  Just read his words -

“He works every single day, he plays to the best of his ability every single day,” Williams said, “he plays perfectly to a scouting report, his brain functions when he’s on the floor and whether he makes a shot or doesn’t make a shot, they’re going to guard him as if he’s a catch-and-shoot guy.

“There’s value in that.”

“But he’s earned the right to start and nobody’s even come close to taking it from him.”

Not like he's on the fence - "nobody’s even come close to taking it from him.”

[tower912]

 Jake isn't great, but no one has stepped up and taken the job from him.    Quit hating Jake.   Get mad at the guys with more talent who haven't outplayed him day in and day out.

[bilsu]

This is why he starts. He was on the bench when the New Mexico coach's son hit three threes to tie the game in the second half. Thomas came in and there were no more threes. JJJ and Mayo cannot match him on the defensive end even though they are quicker and more athletic. Buzz said "his brain functions on the floor". Basically he knows where he is supposed to be on offense and defense, which is not the same for the other two. We should not rag on Thomas, because more talented players cannot beat him out. We should be ragging on the more talented players to do what they need to beat Thomas out.

[Hards Alumni]

This is why he starts. He was on the bench when the New Mexico coach's son hit three threes to tie the game in the second half. Thomas came in and there were no more threes. JJJ and Mayo cannot match him on the defensive end even though they are quicker and more athletic. Buzz said "his brain functions on the floor". Basically he knows where he is supposed to be on offense and defense, which is not the same for the other two. We should not rag on Thomas, because more talented players cannot beat him out. We should be ragging on the more talented players to do what they need to beat Thomas out.

+1  EXACTLY!

[willie warrior]

I understand your agenda, but you don't need to translate anything.  Just read his words -

“He works every single day, he plays to the best of his ability every single day,” Williams said, “he plays perfectly to a scouting report, his brain functions when he’s on the floor and whether he makes a shot or doesn’t make a shot, they’re going to guard him as if he’s a catch-and-shoot guy.

“There’s value in that.”

“But he’s earned the right to start and nobody’s even come close to taking it from him.”

Not like he's on the fence - "nobody’s even come close to taking it from him.”

If the majority of his game play is "the best of his ability" then he should only be seeing spot minutes.

[leever]

If the majority of his game play is "the best of his ability" then he should only be seeing spot minutes.

I get it.  Jake should play spot minutes and the rest of the minutes should be taken up by someone who does NOT play to "the best of his ability" and hasn't "even come close" to taking Jake's starting spot.

Thanks for clarifying.

[forgetful]

If the majority of his game play is "the best of his ability" then he should only be seeing spot minutes.

So we should play the people with more ability who do not play up to that ability. 

If you had an employee with an IQ of 160, pure genius, could come up with ideas on the elevator ride up that others took days to come up with, but never shared them and when at work played video games on the internet all day until it was time to go.

You have another employee with an IQ of 100, works his tail off...comes up with a lot of ok ideas but shares them with others who work together to make them great.  Never takes a break and goes above and beyond his pay grade for the company.

You have to fire one...which one do you get rid of.

Others have more talent, but it is wasted.  They are not giving the effort right now...without effort all the talent in the world is useless.

[chapman]

Others have more talent, but it is wasted.  They are not giving the effort right now...without effort all the talent in the world is useless.

Always putting it all on them is an easy cop out for the coaching staff not having them ready.

[Tugg Speedman]

Every time Jake is introduced as a starter, I will get mad at Mayo, JJJ and Burton for allowing this to happen.  

Every time Jake is introduced as a starter I'm glad he's on this team because he can properly play the 2.

[Sunbelt15]

This is why he starts. He was on the bench when the New Mexico coach's son hit three threes to tie the game in the second half. Thomas came in and there were no more threes. JJJ and Mayo cannot match him on the defensive end even though they are quicker and more athletic. Buzz said "his brain functions on the floor". Basically he knows where he is supposed to be on offense and defense, which is not the same for the other two. We should not rag on Thomas, because more talented players cannot beat him out. We should be ragging on the more talented players to do what they need to beat Thomas out.

So Jake is some how a defensive specialist now. Give me a break. Buzz trust him more than the freshmen, so he starts. Plain and simple. I've come to realize that Buzz is not big on talent, but more a higher IQ of his system which is defense oriented, mixed with maximum effort. I agree, you must blame the other players, particularly Mayo, for not starting ahead of Jake, but he does NOTHING special other than hustle. Jake could play 35mins, shoot 1 for 15 in 5 straight games, and he would still start the next game because of his fit in Buzz's scheme which is proper player position and percieved maximum effort. We just have deal with it because it is what it is.

[forgetful]

So Jake is some how a defensive specialist now. Give me a break. Buzz trust him more than the freshmen, so he starts. Plain and simple. I've come to realize that Buzz is not big on talent, but more a higher IQ of his system which is defense oriented, mixed with maximum effort. I agree, you must blame the other players, particularly Mayo, for not starting ahead of Jake, but he does NOTHING special other than hustle. Jake could play 35mins, shoot 1 for 15 in 5 straight games, and he would still start the next game because of his fit in Buzz's scheme which is proper player position and percieved maximum effort. We just have deal with it because it is what it is.

Except if he is doing nothing special, he is still outperforming everyone else.  It has nothing to do with fit in scheme or Buzz or anyone other than Jake and Mayo.

Jake currently has an eFG% of 51%...Mayo 50%...advantage Jake.
Jake has a A/TO ratio of 1.6....Mayo .93....advantage Jake.
Steals/Rebounds etc....are roughly a push...but advantage Mayo.
Mayo gets out of position on D leading to easy buckets...Jake is our best team defender...advantage Jake.
Hustle....advantage Jake.
Ability to create shots for himself...big advantage Mayo, but leads to the TO's (see above).

Bottom line, on O they are about equal...on D huge advantage for Jake.  If Mayo starts to hustle and plays good team defense he starts.  Until then you go with the better all around player...Jake.

[MU82]

So Jake is some how a defensive specialist now. Give me a break. Buzz trust him more than the freshmen, so he starts. Plain and simple. I've come to realize that Buzz is not big on talent, but more a higher IQ of his system which is defense oriented, mixed with maximum effort. I agree, you must blame the other players, particularly Mayo, for not starting ahead of Jake, but he does NOTHING special other than hustle. Jake could play 35mins, shoot 1 for 15 in 5 straight games, and he would still start the next game because of his fit in Buzz's scheme which is proper player position and percieved maximum effort. We just have deal with it because it is what it is.

Buzz very much wants to put the most talent possible on the floor. He recruits talented players. He recruited a top-10-rated recruiting class last year and by all accounts has another highly rated one this year. If he wanted intangibles instead of talent, he wouldn't be recruiting talent.

However ... talent and work ethic/hustle/defense/instincts/intelligence and other intangibles do not have to be mutually exclusive! I mean, Michael Jordan was the most talented player in NBA history and many observers considered him also the hardest working and among the most intelligent. He didn't have to pick an either-or because it's not an either-or proposition!

I am 100% sure Buzz wishes some of his other options -- the ones who are more talented than Jake -- matched Jake in the other departments because if any of them did, that young man would start over Jake in a minute. Buzz did start Vander over Jake, didn't he? Did he just suddenly decide he loves Jake but hates talent? Buzz did start Junior over Derrick last year despite saying repeatedly that Derrick "deserved" to start, right? That's because Junior had more talent and could help the team win.

Come on, people! Buzz is a coach. He wants to win and he will play the guys he thinks gives the team the best chance of doing it. This isn't the NBA. He's not tanking for a higher draft pick and he's not doing things to "make a point."

You and I might not always agree with his decisions -- I am among those who thinks change for the sake of change, at least in short spurts, is a viable option -- but we shouldn't question Buzz's desire to win. He's a coach, for crissakes. He ONLY wants to win.

[Markusquette]

I think Buzz's minutes have been plenty fair.  Deonte is playing a ton and Todd/Jajuan have seen their fair share of minutes.  If Todd's head was on straight he would be starting.  If Jajuan was ready to accept a starting role and not have many lapses on defense he would be starting.  

Buzz isn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to coaching, but he knows his guys and scheme inside and out.  Record-wise I don't think we would be in a better position if the minutes were distributed differently.  Just because Jake was a walk-on transfer with inferior raw talent shouldn't solely dictate his playing time.  It's clear he is smart and works extremely hard, which pays off.  Without Jake in some of these games we wouldn't have even had a chance to win at the end.  Albeit, we lost during some of his big games, but how quickly some forget his good performances is beyond me.  

I've been very impressed with Thomas' play as of late and a bit disappointed in the play of the guys behind him in the depth chart.  And my evaluation on Thomas is relative to what we got from him last year and what we realistically expected.  He's got way too much weight on his shoulders now just because our other options have not surpassed him.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

So we should play the people with more ability who do not play up to that ability. 

If you had an employee with an IQ of 160, pure genius, could come up with ideas on the elevator ride up that others took days to come up with, but never shared them and when at work played video games on the internet all day until it was time to go.

You have another employee with an IQ of 100, works his tail off...comes up with a lot of ok ideas but shares them with others who work together to make them great.  Never takes a break and goes above and beyond his pay grade for the company.

You have to fire one...which one do you get rid of.

Others have more talent, but it is wasted.  They are not giving the effort right now...without effort all the talent in the world is useless.

I don't think you're analogy necessarily makes the point you want. In some circumstances it would make sense to fire the genius, and in other circumstances it makes sense to fire the hard worker.

If the hard worker is 3 months away from retirement and if my short term marginal cost of picking the genius is minimal, then I might rationally choose the long-term upside of the genius and hope he starts to figure it out.

[willie warrior]

I get it.  Jake should play spot minutes and the rest of the minutes should be taken up by someone who does NOT play to "the best of his ability" and hasn't "even come close" to taking Jake's starting spot.

Thanks for clarifying.

Right--keep slurping the Buzzspeak BS

[thisists]

its BS like players who get themselves suspended that make me agree with buzz's decisions to coach his athletes team rather than just put in the most talent.

[tower912]

Right--keep slurping the Buzzspeak BS

Nah, you're not a hater.  A thousand apologies. 

[MarsupialMadness]

I don't think you're analogy necessarily makes the point you want. In some circumstances it would make sense to fire the genius, and in other circumstances it makes sense to fire the hard worker.

If the hard worker is 3 months away from retirement and if my short term marginal cost of picking the genius is minimal, then I might rationally choose the long-term upside of the genius and hope he starts to figure it out.

+1

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The other thing being overlooked is the tactical advantage of having Jake on the floor. He is by far our best three point shooter. He forces the defense to spread out. This unclogs the paint for our bigs to post up and our guards to drive. Take Jake out of the game and the defense barely has to respect anybody's shot

[tower912]

IMO, Jake should set up on the same side as Oxtule and feed the post from the wing.   If his man stays, the double has to come from somewhere else.   If his man doubles, simple pitch back out for a catch and shoot 3. 

[MU_LOL]

I understand your agenda, but you don't need to translate anything.  Just read his words -

“He works every single day, he plays to the best of his ability every single day,” Williams said, “he plays perfectly to a scouting report, his brain functions when he’s on the floor and whether he makes a shot or doesn’t make a shot, they’re going to guard him as if he’s a catch-and-shoot guy.

“There’s value in that.”

“But he’s earned the right to start and nobody’s even come close to taking it from him.”

Not like he's on the fence - "nobody’s even come close to taking it from him.”

perhaps buzz is using him to inspire "above average" players before the regular season starts. if so, it's sick and twisted. lol

[brandx]

Buzz isn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to coaching, but he knows his guys and scheme inside and out.  Record-wise I don't think we would be in a better position if the minutes were distributed differently.  Just because Jake was a walk-on transfer with inferior raw talent shouldn't solely dictate his playing time.  It's clear he is smart and works extremely hard, which pays off.  Without Jake in some of these games we wouldn't have even had a chance to win at the end.  Albeit, we lost during some of his big games, but how quickly some forget his good performances is beyond me.  

You don't need to use an analogy - if you think Buzz is an idiot, be brave enough to say it. My guess is that you're not the sharpest tool in the shed with your analysis.