Men's Basketball
50th Anniversary Pilot Profiles - Greg Thomas
Bethel College Basketball will be profiling athletes from the past leading up to a celebration of the 50 years of Pilot Basketball this November
Greg Thomas played one of the most important roles in a record breaking era at Bethel.
“Greg was quick enough that we could use him up front on the press,” said Coach Homer Drew. “And he was mobile enough and big enough to still get back under the boards.”
In addition, Thomas was usually handed the toughest defensive assignments.
“We used Greg against a 5-8 guard and we used him against a 6-8 center,” said Drew. “He covered the entire defensive spectrum for us.”
The 6-5 forward blossomed as an offensive threat later in his career and just missed combining 1,000 points (1,440) with 1,000 rebounds (976). Thomas combined with Gary Knowles, Bill O’Dell, and Joe Focht to power the Pilots to a 101-33 record (52-2 in Goodman) over four years.
He never missed a start in 134 outings and set a career high with 25 points versus Marion.
Thomas was named NCCAA second team All American as a senior. He also mad e the NCCAA All District team twice (1981 and 1983) and was NAIA All District 21 Honorable Mention in 1983. Thomas was named to the Mid-Central Conference second team in 1982 and made first team in 1983. He was named to the Turkey Classic team in 1981 and topped that honor with a selection as Turkey Classic MVP in 1982. Thomas also was a Bethel Classic selection in 1982.
Thomas scored six points in his first game at Bethel, broke the 1,000 barrier against Cincinnati Bible and turned in 24 versus Trinity Christian in his last home game. He averaged 10 points in five NCCAA finals games.
At South Bend LaSalle, Thomas scored 110 points and grabbed 147 rebounds as a senior. He scored the winning bucket against Clay in sectional action as a junior. Dave Magley, named Mr. Basketball in Indiana, and Thomas were high school teammates.
