Throughout his two seasons at Creighton, Khyri Thomas has quietly made a big impact on the team. Now going into his junior season, Thomas has developed into one of the premier all-around players in the country.
He averaged 12.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game last year while also being named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He did all of this while primarily guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter scorer.
His discipline within all facets of the game started when he attended Fork Union Military Academy after graduating from Omaha Benson High School.
“It wasn’t something I didn’t want to do, but it was worth it, as far as being mature,” Thomas said. “Like being mature about grades, and school, taking school serious, and being more disciplined. I look at life a lot better than what I did [before], taking it as a joke.”
At Fork Union, Thomas had to follow the strict rules in place, including wearing a uniform while on campus, restricted use of computers and television, no cell phones and a strict curfew.
Thomas decided that after his postgraduate year at Fork Union, he was going to return home to Omaha and play for Creighton.
When talking about playing in front of his hometown, Thomas joked about making the wrong decision. “A lot of people think it’s fun for me, but a lot of my friends talk crap and give me crap about it, so I should’ve went somewhere else,” Thomas said. “It’s fun, coming back to my hometown, and opening the eyes for younger guys that are in the same position I was in.”
In Thomas’ debut, he scored 18 points against Texas Southern. He went on to start 28 of Creighton’s 34 games that year, averaging 6.2 points and 3.7 rebounds. His game took a big jump during his sophomore season when he was forced to become more of a playmaker within the offense.
After the injury to Maurice Watson, Thomas helped the Jays continue their success and reach the NCAA Tournament. Thomas’ offense seems to have taken another leap going into his junior season as he’s scored 41 points combined throughout the Jays’ two exhibition games. Thomas attributes his offensive improvements to staying aggressive.
“Defensively, it’s always been a mental thing to me. But being more aggressive allows me to step up [offensively],” Thomas said.
After stepping up for Creighton and being named the Big East defensive player of the year last season, Thomas was only named to the coaches preseason Big East honorable mention list before this season. Senior guard Marcus Foster didn’t agree with the coaches on this.
“I don’t think they understand how much work Khryi put in this offseason,” Foster said in an interview with the Omaha World-Herald. “He’s looking a lot better. I think he’s going to show a lot of people how good he really is this year.”
As Thomas continues improves his game, he’s also now becoming a leader on the team. Thomas and Foster might be locked into two of the starting guard positions, but behind them are two true freshmen in Mitchell Ballock and Ty-Shon Alexander. Thomas is using his own experiences to help his younger teammates.
“I kind of look at it as if I was a freshman again, and all of the older guys who looked after me.” he said. “With that experience, I can help them out.”
According to Ballock, Thomas is making an impact.
“Playing behind Marcus and Khryi, two of the best players not only in the conference but the country … is good,” Ballock said. “I’ve learned a lot from them and just watch them play and watch how they adjust to the game.”
Now coming into a leadership role within this year’s team, Thomas’ performances will have a big impact on the team throughout the season.