Sebastian Thomas Returns to URI. What Does He Add to the Team?
A hometown hero will return to Kingston for his senior season
For the second time in as many weeks, the Rhode Island Rams have made an addition to their backcourt.
Sebastian Thomas, a 6'3", 175-pound Providence, Rhode Island native who spent two seasons at URI from 2021-23, announced last Saturday that he would return to Kingston for his final season of eligibility.
It was a move that certainly surprised some. Initially recruited by former Rhode Island lead man David Cox, Thomas- primarily a reserve guard during his first go-around with the program- remained with the team through the transitionary period between Cox's dismissal and the subsequent hiring of current head coach Archie Miller.
Following the 2022-23 campaign, Thomas entered the transfer portal, a move brought on by a sweeping overhaul of the Rams roster and a desire for more playing time. He'd find the latter at his next stop- the University of Albany- seeing the floor for 93% of the Great Danes's minutes this season (24th-most minutes played by any DI player in 2023-24). After logging 1,149 minutes through 62 contests (16 starts) with Rhode Island from 2021-23, Thomas nearly topped that mark this past year alone, seeing 1,133 minutes of game action in 32 games played- all starts.
The increased role also resulted in considerable improvements to his offensive game. Scoring just 267 points during his first two seasons in Kingston, Thomas held per-game averages of 4.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists on 35.4% shooting during his underclassman years.
He registered 627 points with Albany in 2023-24, good for an average of 19.6 points while shooting a career-best 43.1% from the floor. Adding 4.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists per night, he earned Second Team All-America East honors at season end and, once entering the portal, became an intriguing transfer addition for guard-needy teams.
His on-ball ability- both offensive and defensive- is what brings the most value. Thomas was 259th nationally in steal percentage- recording a theft on 2.9% of opponents' offensive possessions- and finished 125th amongst D-I players in assist rate, registering a dime on 26.9% of Albany's baskets in 2023-24. He also reduced his turnover rate to 15%, down 7.7 percentage points from his sophomore season with Rhode Island (22.7% TO Rate in 2022-23). Such is excellent news for the Rams, who were 202nd in Division I in assist rate this past season at 49.6% while struggling to both take care of the ball (team turnover rate of 18.5%; 282nd in DI) and forcing the issue defensively (opponent turnover rate of 13.1%; 355th in the nation).
Thomas now returns home a much more complete player. He joins a loaded backcourt that features the likes of returners such as Jaden House, Cam Estevez, and Always Wright, as well as incoming Nebraska transfer Jamarques Lawrence- however, he is the only true point guard of the bunch and will likely slide into the starting rotation.
Naturally, the return of an established veteran and fan favorite in Thomas did not bode well for everyone. In the wake of the Ram's newest addition, Luis Kortright- who started 31 of his 32 games played for URI last season- announced his decision to enter the transfer portal, marking the eleventh player to part ways with the program this offseason and leaving Miller and company with five more scholarships to fill- and a mounting depth issue in the frontcourt.
But that's an issue for another day. With a quality tempo-pushing point guard who plays both ends of the floor at a high level, the Ram's reload is well underway- and to make such a pivotal addition by bringing back a hometown hero only makes the transaction that much sweeter.
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