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If you haven't read or seen it, let's take a moment to read Zach Braziller's profile of Keith Thomas, a man who has a bit of mystery to him. He is a dominant rebounder, 23 years old and seemed to disappear for a few years of what would be his prime college basketball years, only to emerge at Westchester County Community College as a high-level proepect.
From academic problems in high school to run-ins with the law, personal loss and injuries in junior college, the strapping 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward from Yorktown used the word "depressing" to describe several points in his frustrating young life.
By far, the most depressing?
"I didn't think I was going to play basketball [again]," said Thomas.
A lot of good stuff in this story of injury, family, finding work to support himself, and loss.
And importantly, it seems that his perseverance allowed him to come back to basketball, back to people who believed in him, and reach St. John's as a possibly high-impact recruit at the forward position, filling the Johnnies' need for a role-playing rebounder.
So go read the profile!