BU commit 2019- Antonio Thomas

[Da Coach]

We are starting a separate thread about 2019 point guard recruit Antonio Thomas.

http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/antonio-thomas-tn

https://www.prephoops.com/2018/07/prospect-spotlight-antonio-thomas-2019/

He played his sophomore season (2016-17) at Memphis Ridgeway HS, but then transferred and played this past season (2017-1, his junior season, at Memphis East High School under their first-year head coach Penny Hardaway (who is now the head coach at University of Memphis). He returned home last night (Sunday, 9/16) after his official visit to Bradley. He was very impressed with Bradley's coaches, program, and facilities.
He has not committed yet, but he and his family are reportedly close to making a decision.
We could hear more later today-

https://twitter.com/PrepHoopsTN/status/1041540095625633792

Bradley has been recruiting Antonio Thomas for over a year.
Here are several previous posts about Antonio Thomas-

2019 Antonio Thomas- a 6'2' point guard who played last season at Memphis Ridgeway High School in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2017-18 he will be playing at Memphis East High School for Head Coach Penny Hardaway. He has offers from Tennessee-Martin and SIUE, but after a good summer, he is getting interest from many other schools.

https://verbalcommits.com/players/antonio-thomas-tn

Some videos-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSHO1E31zAI

http://www.hudl.com/profile/6962604/antonio-thomas

2019 Antonio Thomas (offered)- 6'2" point guard now at Memphis East High School in Memphis, Tennessee.

http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/antonio-thomas-tn

Video-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSHO1E31zAI

Update on 2019 Antonio Thomas- 6'2" point guard from Memphis East HS in Memphis, Tennessee that Bradley offered back in April. He also plays for the Team Thad AAU program-

http://verbalcommits.com/players/antonio-thomas-tn

We originally were the first to report about Bradley offering Antonio Thomas way back on April 30, 2018-

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=825139444&highlight=antonio+thomas#post825139444

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=825139442&highlight=antonio+thomas#post825139442

And we reported on his unofficial visit to Bradley back on June 27-

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=825140355&highlight=antonio+thomas#post825140355

Antonio Thomas will now be visiting Bradley for an official visit on Friday, September 14.
https://twitter.com/GoTigers247/stat...33968387469312

[Da Coach]

Antonio Thomas has committed to Bradley!

https://twitter.com/Antonio_Thomas1/status/1041704696199766017

I have heard that Antonio Thomas was at the top of the coaches' list for a point guard in this class of 2019.
This is great to lock him up early, as I believe he would have been getting much higher interest as this season progressed. After playing this summer with a loaded Team Thad AAU program, he is playing on a Memphis East team also loaded with other D1 talent. I expect him to continue developing into a great point guard.

[tornado]

Bingo - wow that's two in a row off our prime list of top targets that we brought in for Fall Official Visits!!
(btw- he's wearing #23 - and that number becomes available next year when DLO graduates!)

Great job by our staff - great recruiting success and hopefully we're on a roll now.......
First a big kid that will give us what Donte gave us and then a top PG in the mold of DB but 6-2! - could there be one more right around the corner?

and talk abut interest - I have never seen a thread get over 1000 views in less than 20 minutes!!
(is Dave Reynolds on vacation? He hasn't tweeted or written anything in a couple days)

[Mikovio]

Great news! He gets to back up Brown for a year and hopefully take the reigns. The more talent you get on campus the easier it is to recruit. Who wouldn't want to play alongside Childs and Boya?

[Big Mike]

Wow...was hoping to hear some good news and here it is.....great pick up for the Braves!

[tornado]

but I think we are seeing a foretaste of what's to come...
this is big breaking news for Bradley and this stuff used to get immediate and significant coverage by Dave Reynolds & PJStar...

but not now - they have nothing....not a tweet nor a blurb...
but this is what I guess we are to expect as time goes forward -
Bradley basketball is the single biggest local sports-interest topic in Central Illinois and we get less coverage than bowling or middle school cross country

Probably answers a little why 300-400 people have been on & viewing BradleyFans most of the day to find out about Bradley's latest commits

[Chico]

but I think we are seeing a foretaste of what's to come...
this is big breaking news for Bradley and this stuff used to get immediate and significant coverage by Dave Reynolds & PJStar...

but not now - they have nothing....not a tweet nor a blurb...
but this is what I guess we are to expect as time goes forward -
Bradley basketball is the single biggest local sports-interest topic in Central Illinois and we get less coverage than bowling or middle school cross country

Probably answers a little why 300-400 people have been on & viewing BradleyFans most of the day to find out about Bradley's latest commits

.
Not defending the pjs by any means, but the paper only comes out once a day, the twice a day paper ended years ago, so maybe the paper had already gone to press when it was announced. Good work. Keep up the good work Coach Wardle.

[Da Coach]

.
Not defending the pjs by any means, but the paper only comes out once a day, the twice a day paper ended years ago, so maybe the paper had already gone to press when it was announced. Good work. Keep up the good work Coach Wardle.

It used to be the case that you would have to wait until the paper came out the next day, unless there was an "Extra" edition. But the internet has changed that.
The online version of the PJ Star (and every newspaper) now is updated continuously with new articles, and breaking news can be posted instantaneously at any time, 24 hours a day. Plus, the writers all have twitter accounts and can post breaking news at any time, 24 hours a day, and they do quite frequently.

Dave Reynolds might be on a vacation, since he has not even tweeted since the final score of the washington-Dunlap high school football game on Friday night, Sept. 14. And we know they are short-handed.

[tornado]

Chico- I mean online
they add online content as it happens
and had always been prompt about covering things like this but seemingly not any more - BU coverage just isn't a priority
Heck, during the Geno years Dave Reynolds even went out of town to AAU events to follow Geno and see who he was recruiting and reported on it regularly...
now we barely get any coverage...but that's OK - it just leaves the door open for some citizen reporting here on BradleyFans
I am predicting it now - it will get worse...
Dave Reynolds will probably take the buyout too then who's left that even cares about covering Bradley?

[PhiAlphaBoy]

now we barely get any coverage...but that's OK - it just leaves the door open for some citizen reporting here on BradleyFans

This also means that sites like this must be even more cognizant of the increased responsibility to enforce the standards of journalistic integrity and accuracy, in the same manner that newspapers have been held to for decades. If these kinds of sites are to remain believable and viable it means the moderators must continue with their vigilance toward fact checking and coming down on members who post blatant inaccuracies.

[tornado]

but terribly biased opinions - some which are based on falsehoods - and flat-out erroneous reporting have been offered by the PJS and other papers for eons...
under the banner of "literary license" and "he's a columnist not a reporter"

likewise, opinion is offered on message boards and people are free to agree or disagree - not much difference

[BUSongwriter]

It's difficult to fathom that there was nothing about Antonio's commitment in this morning's PJS print edition and nothing that I can find on their website.

I guess this really is the new normal. Sad.

That being said, Antonio you are going to love it here and there are thousands of fans who are looking forward to seeing your skills. Very bright days are ahead for the Braves!

[PurpleAceFan]

Looks like nice size for a PG. Under-recruited to this point (only offer from UT Martin), but always good to get kids early before they have a chance to blow up. Certainly plays for a good high school team.

Time will tell, but if UE had signed a similar player I would certainly be okay with it.

[Mikovio]

Yeah it says that on VC but according to this article as of July he had offers from South Alabama, UT-Martin, East Tennessee State, Florida International, Bradley, and James Madison.

https://www.prephoops.com/2018/07/prospect-spotlight-antonio-thomas-2019/

Irregardless I trust the coaching staff??™s evaluations. If they think he??™s a great fit that??™s all I need to hear. Brown??™s list wasn??™t any better and he??™s all Valley.

[tornado]

It's difficult to fathom that there was nothing about Antonio's commitment in this morning's PJS ...

and still nothing on the web page or twitter....well I guess a twist on the old adage...at least they didn't say anything bad...
"No coverage is good coverage..."


anyway - did everyone notice Coach Wardle's tweet...

https://twitter.com/BUBrianWardle/status/1042081362851913728

he obviously isn't allowed to say anything about the recruits who have verbaled, but he says everything he needs to say with the two check marks!