Monday, April 18, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 18, 2005) - East Tennessee State University men's basketball coach Murry Bartow announced Monday that 6-foot-7 forward Eryk Thomas (Fremont, Calif.) has signed to play basketball for the Buccaneers beginning with the 2005-06 season.

"Eryk is a very athletic, versatile inside player who has proven to be a good post-defender," Bartow said. "We felt like we needed to fill some voids on the inside, and Eryk will help us do that. He's a really good, solid player. A big reason we recruited Eryk was that he's a great kid with solid character, and he has been a proven leader on his teams in high school and junior college."

A player with the ability to score and defend, Thomas was the MVP and captain of his American High School team in Fremont, Calif., averaging a team-high 14.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks a game on way to being named a first-team All-Mission Valley Athletic Conference performer.

A two-year starter and team captain who helped lead Santa Rosa Community College to a combined record of 43-14 over the last two years, Thomas averaged 15 points and eight rebounds this past season on way to garnering both all-league and all-state first-team honors.

"Eryk is a solid kid and good player who has improved tremendously over the past two seasons," said Santa Rosa Community College coach Craig McMillan. "His ability and his leadership on and off the court have been key to two consecutive 20-win seasons for us."

Eryk is the son of Lincoln and Barbara Thomas of Fremont, Ca.

            With the signing of Thomas, the Bucs have three scholarships left to offer. One of those scholarships will go to Courtney Pigram, a guard out of Memphis who is currently attending classes at ETSU, which means the final two scholarships are still left to be granted.