That style, particularly on defense, is what made Thomas one of West Texas’ most successful Class 4A coaches in recent years. In nine seasons, Thomas’ career winning percentage is an impressive .761.
Thomas hopes to establish that style in these new-look Wildcats. The question is just how long it will take.
“What we’d like to establish is that sense of toughness, of hustle, of blue-collar Wildcat tenaciousness,” Thomas said on the eve of his Temple debut. “We want our fans and our fellow students to be proud of the effort the kids give and how they play as a team.”
Temple tips off its season at 8 p.m. today against Georgetown at Wildcat Gym. Thomas plans to start guards D.J. Wright (5-8) and Donovan Shumpert (6-0), wing Eric Valdez (6-2) and forwards Ray Williams (6-6) and Chris Randle (6-3) in tonight’s opener.
Thomas, who was hired in early August, comes to Temple after a successful nine-year run at Class 4A schools Amarillo Palo Duro and Lubbock Estacado, where he compiled a 235-74 record. That stretch was capped by an appearance in the 2004 state tournament at Estacado.
Temple hasn’t seen that kind of success in quite some time. The Wildcats last qualified for the postseason during the 2004-05 season, advancing to the 5A Region II semifinals. Since then, though, Temple has gone 35-57 overall and 9-29 in district. In the last two seasons, all three of the Wildcats’ district wins have come against rival Belton.
Temple was 9-21 and 1-11 in former coach Bruce Etheridge’s final season. Etheridge resigned over the summer to take the head coaching position at 4A Marble Falls.
As much as teaching the Wildcats his defensive principles, making sure this group expects to win has been just as important for Thomas.
“Sometimes you go into a season or a program and the kids are just happy to play. They don’t really know, for sure, if they can get it done,” Thomas said. “Basically, what we’re trying to do is give them a sense of belief that, ‘Hey, this can get done. This is what it takes, what we do right now before the game ever starts.’
“We’re trying to build a program but we’re going to have to take baby steps on a lot of things. We’re on the right path. I think the kids want to do it.”
With no player taller than 6-6 forward Williams, the Wildcats will have among District 12-5A’s smallest lineups. Wright, Valdez and guard Lache Seastrunk (5-10) are the only returners who played major minutes last season. Valdez was 13-5A’s co-Newcomer of the Year last season, averaging 13 points per game in district. Wright and Seastrunk were both all-district selections and each averaged just over eight points per game.
Though Thomas won’t compromise on his overall philosophy, he’s had to adapt his up-tempo style to the Wildcats’ smaller lineup.
“As a coach, you always want to make your system fit the kids,” Thomas said. “You have to adjust some things, a little bit here, a little bit there to fit the kids. The one thing that’s going to be consistent is that we want to hustle, play hard, play great team defense and play great team offense. That part of it is going to be consistent no matter who the players are.”
Defense - especially creating havoc for opposing offenses in pressure man-to-man sets - has been the primary focus for a team that allowed nearly 80 points per game in district and lost six straight to close out the season.
“We’ve got to be more aggressive than we’ve been in the past,” Wright said.
Said Williams: “We have to deny, help, hustle. We have to be ready.”
