Daryl Thomas (May 25, 1965 – March 28, 2018) was an American basketball player and coach from Chicago, Illinois.

High school career

Thomas, a 6'7"

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, played high school basketball at Chicago-area

St. Joseph High School St. Joseph's School, St. Joseph's Catholic School, St Joseph's School, St Joseph's Catholic School, and variants are frequently used school names, and may refer to: Africa * St Joseph's School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Asia * St Joseph Higher Secon ...

in Westchester, Illinois, the same school that

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is an analyst for ''NBA TV''. The 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as well as the 75 Grea ...

(no relation) had attended. He was both a McDonald's and Parade All-American in 1983.

College career

Thomas was a starter for Indiana University under coach Bobby Knight from 1983 to 1987 scoring 1,095 points. Thomas was co-captain of the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team that won the

1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1987, and ended with the championsh ...

. Thomas scored 20 points and notably made the pass to Keith Smart, whose buzzer-beating shot gave the Hoosiers a one-point victory over Syracuse. Knight called Thomas' decision to pass the ball to Smart, who had a better shot, "the greatest single play I ever had a kid make."

Professional career

The Sacramento Kings selected Thomas as the 120th pick in the

1987 NBA draft The 1987 NBA draft was held on June 22, 1987, in New York City. This draft included two future members of the NBA 50 Greatest Players list, David Robinson and Scottie Pippen, as well as fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who was named to the ...

. He did not make the team and instead played professionally for 13 seasons in the UK, Poland and Dominican Republic. He also played one season in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA), splitting time with the Fargo-Moorhead Fever and La Crosse Catbirds in the 1992–93 CBA season.1993–94 Official CBA Guide and Register, page 346.

Coaching career and death

In later years Thomas was a basketball coach at Montini Catholic High School near Chicago. Thomas died of a heart attack on March 28, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Daryl 1965 births 2018 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Centers (basketball) Fargo-Moorhead Fever players High school basketball coaches in the United States Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players La Crosse Catbirds players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Chicago