I have only been to 3 G-League game of the Maine Celtics, but every game was a great experience and in some way each game had a connection to my basketball job as writer and commentator. My first trip to Portland was in the 2012-2013 season as back then they were called the Main Red Claws. I had a very good reason to come, because my friend Mike Taylor was the coach. I had covered him many years in Germany. I was able to meet guys like Chris Wright, Dajuan Summers and Shelvin Mack. My next visit was in November 2021 during the hey day of Covid. Everybody was wearing masks, but it didn´t hinder me to meet some players. I had interviewed Eric Demers via email and then finally met him. We have kept close contact the last years as I tried to get him to play in Germany, but he landed in Spain and got his first taste of euro ball there. I remember meeting guys like Luke Kornet, Chris Clemons and Greg Monroe from Capital City. A few months ago, I was back for a third time and saw the now Maine Celtics defeat Capital City. As usual I had a field day with selfies seeing guys like Ron Harper Jr, Justin Champaigne and Drew Peterson. Another player I saw play 3 years ago was Brodric Thomas (196-G-1997, college: Truman St.). Unfortunately I hadn´t met him there, but after 3 years our paths crossed again, this time with a telephone interview. A big shout out to his agent Duncan Lloyd for setting us up for such an interesting conversation. “I appreciate you coming out to see me play 3 years ago”, said Brodric Thomas. He is only in his fourth pro season and first overseas, but he has already seen so much in his career having reached the NBA. He is one of those guys I won´t forget simply because he had an upbeat attitude and gave me a great interview.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Eric Demers in Portland, Maine Nov 2021

Thomas who lists Trevor Hudgens as his toughest opponent in college and a guy who with himself proved you can reach the NBA and not be a division 1 player was born on January 28th, 1997 in Boilingbrook, Illinois. He attended Boilingbrook high school, but had many talented players around him and got no interest from diviison1 schools. He committed to play at Truman State (NCAA 2), but he suffered a tough injury and had to redshirt and played a season at Southwestern Community College. There he had massive success and won a JUCO title. “We lost 1 game that season. I think the special thing was our attitude. We all came in with the mindset that if we are successful then we can go where we want to. Everyone bought into that and we had a very special relationship”, remembered Brodric Thomas. He was one of the few guys that went from Juco to the NBA. Another guy that comes to mind is Jay Scrubb. Was he overlooked in JUCO and at Truman State or did he make massive strides in your game in school? “I think that it is a bit of both. I went to division 2, then to JUCO and back to division 2. My game in JUCO grew from a mental and physical stand point. In my freshman year I was 6.1 and 150 pounds and when I went to JUCO was 6.4 and 195 pounds. I changed a lot as a player. I had a lot of freedom in JUCO”, stressed Brodric Thomas. It doesn´t matter who I have interviewed that played JUCO, but everyone always stresses that JUCO was a real grind, but an experience they wouldn´t have traded the world for. “I can attest to that. That season was one of the most pivotal in my career. It was where I realized who I was. When you play in a small town, there is only hoops and school. You can really work on developing your game. It was a tough grind, but we built a special relationship. You don´t see that often”, warned Brodric Thomas. One fellow that was instrumental in his early basketball development was head coach Todd Lorenson. “He believed in me and all the players. He is a players coach. He allowed us to play our game and feel comfortable. That helped us all. He also had interpersonal relationships with all. He allowed me freedom and gave me the reins to the team. I can´t thank the man any more than that”, stated Brodric Thomas. In his JUCO season he picked up NJCAA D2 All-Tournament Team -and All-NJCAA D2 Region XI First Team.

The Illinois native that lists James Harden, John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Darius garland and Prentiss Nixon as his 5 best teammates of all-time then had a great 3 year career at Truman State University (NCAA2) averaging 16.2ppg, 6.2rpg, 4.2apg, 1.7spg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 47.5%, 3PT: 38.7%, FT: 69.1%, 18.0ppg, 6.5rpg, 3.3apg, 1.3spg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 47.1%, 3PT: 31.0%, FT: 82.2%, 21.5ppg, 7.2rpg, 3.3apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 49.7%, 3PT: 41.7%, FT: 80.9%. He made huge strides in his game there. “I built on my game each season. JUCO taught me that if I got better, good things would happen. JUCO helped me to bring leadership and the expectation of what winning is. I was able to elevate myself on and off the court”, commented Brodric Thomas. He played 80 games at Truman State and scored in double figures in 75 games. Some of his best scoring games included 35 points against Maryville MO, 34 points against Missouri S&T, and 34 points against Missouri S. He had the luxury of playing for 2 head coaches with Chris Foster and Jeff Horner who did superb jobs in their own unique ways of steering him to a professional career. “Both played a different role and helped me grow. Jeff had the more important role. He had had experience as a player and knew what it took to get there. He set big expectations and saw I had potential to get to the league. Important also was that his system was more of a pro one as opposed to a college one. He played pick and roll and that helped shape my game. Jeff helped me with the mental side and instilled confidence in me. He taught me that it is a grind, but you need that same mentality to get better. He also helped me with defensive principles”, expressed Brodric Thomas who never lost to teammate Mark Rodgers in 1-1. At Truman State he picked up various achievements like All-GLVC First Team -2018, 19, 20, GLVC All-Defensive Team -2018, 19, 20, GLVC All-Tournament Team -2018, 20, NJCAA D2 All-Americans Second Team -2018, and NABC NCAA D2 All-Midwest District Second Team -2019.

The ex NCAA 2 player who lists Jordan, Lebron, Kobe, and McGrady on his personal NBA Mount Rushmore turned professional in 2020 and had a whirlwind of a rookie season getting 2 NBA opportunities starting with the Houston Rockets where he played 4 games and then played 28 games with Cleveland averaging 4/1/1 stats. He also had 2 G-League stints with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers averaging 16.4ppg, 7.8rpg, 3.0apg, 1.6spg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 49.2%, 3PT: 36.5%, FT: 53.8% and with the Canton Charge averaging 21.3ppg, 6.7rpg, 4.2apg, 2.0spg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 46.2%, 3PT: 46.2%, FT: 62.5%. He couldn´t have joined a better organization than the Rockets as that team had an incredible meaning to him. “My wake up call was day 1. I had been a huge Rockets fan growing up and loved watching Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming play. It was dream come true being able to wear that jersey. Seeing guys like James Harden and Demarcus Cousins in training camp was great. That will stick with me forever”, explained Brodric Thomas. He couldn´t of played in a more meaningful first game against the Portland Trailblazers. He didn´t score in 10 minutes of time, but there was this incredible aura on the floor. “I remember the thrill of checking in. In that game there were a few other guys that got their first minutes. It was eye opening guarding players like that. When you get in you have that competitive nature of wanting to get stops. I remember James Harden saying calm down. In the heat of the game, your not thinking about that. But it made sense that you need composure. We rushed things and maybe had jitters. Watching those legends was unmatched. I remember everyone saying will we see the James Harden of old. He had a great game in my debut and proved all wrong. It was nice to see that happen”, said Brodric Thomas. With the Cavs he scored twice in double figures netting 13 points against Dallas and 14 points against Brooklyn. With the Cavs he was teammates with big rugged German big man Isaiah Hartenstein. It took Hartenstein 6 NBA seasons to finally get a chance with the Oklahoma Thunder. He wasn´t used properly in New York, but this season can display his whole game. “Isaiah is one of the most underrated bigs in the NBA. He gets overlooked a lot. But there are a lot of politics in the NBA. I´m glad that he has found a home with OKC and is flourishing”, said Brodric Thomas.

The ex NBA Summer League player who feels that you can´t go wrong with either Jordan or Lebron as the GOAT played his second professional season with the Boston Celtics (NBA) playing 12 games averaging 1.8ppg, played also with Maine playing 28 games averaging 16.0ppg, 5.5rpg, 3.9apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 54.2%, 3PT: 39.9%, FT: 75.7%. It is no surprise that his time with the Boston Celtics was something extraordinary. “It was a different kind of aura there. You really felt that sense of history there. You felt that breath of culture throughout the team. The expectations of success really rubbed off on all. From top to bottom. It was a cool experience. We reached the final. I saw what it took to get there. I will take that feeling with me forever”, commented Brodric Thomas. Not many guys can say that they were teammates with Jayson Tatum. How realistic is it that one day he will be the best player in the NBA? “Yes I feel he can. This season he is making a case for MVP. His game speaks for it´s self. He won the title and really has nothing more to prove except to keep winning. He is on his way to becoming 1 of the best in the league. He is still pretty young and has time”, stated Brodric Thomas. In the G-League he scored 32 points against Westchester and 26 points against Grand Rapids. He sat out the 2022-2023 season due to injury and last season played with the Ontario Clippers averaging 11.0ppg, 3.5rpg, 3.1apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 42.3%, 3PT: 35.7%, FT: 75.0%. It was a solid season, but not great one. Did he lose faith in the NBA process thus coming overseas this season? “No I didn´t. For me it was just to get back to my old self before my surgery. I wanted to get my confidence back”, said Brodric Thomas. With Ontario he scored in double figures in 11 games including lighting up the G League Ignite for 26 points and Santa Cruz for 25 points.

This season the 196cm guard who didn´t know that a sequel had been produced of the classic Coming To America is playing overseas with Manisa Basket (Turkey-BSL). Turkey is one of the top leagues in Europe and have high salaries. It is no surprise that he has been content with the experience so far. “The experience has been really good. The organization was very welcoming as was the city. They accepted me with open arms. It has been fun. We haven´t been as successful yet, but I really like the guys”, said Brodric Thomas. For him it must be like an NBA reunion with guys like Saben Lee, Chris Chiozza, Jamorko Pickett, and Troy Brown Jr. “Yes it is. It is fun seeing a lot of familiar faces. It is good to talk to them and relate to stories”, added Brodric Thomas. He hasn´t been able to play Basketball Champions League yet, because he wasn´t registered yet when he was signed, but if the team moves by Chemnitz could be eligible then. In the BSL he hás been solid averaging 8/4/1/1 stats. ”It has been an adjustment figuring out my role. The lineup changed again with the arrival of Saben Lee. I´m still trying to feel what my role is. I´m still learning and taking it day by day and not looking at my stats”, expressed Brodric Thomas. With so much talent, it isn´t always easy to get the number of shots that one wants. “We are all trying to figure out where we can all get a piece of the pie. We are learning each others tendencies better each day. We want to be able to give our best together”, stressed Brodric Thomas. It will be interesting to see how his game keeps developing overseas. PJ Tucker reached the NBA and then went to Europe for some grooming and then after some years returned to the NBA and is still there 10 + years. He is overseas now, but does he still see having the NBA as a side door in the future? “For me it is Ok where I´m at. I´m always striving to be the greatest. If it will take me back to the NBA great, but at the end of the day if I flourish overseas then that’s Ok as well. I just love the game and want to play at the highest level. I would be happy with both”, stressed Brodric Thomas. For now he is looking to make some history in Turkey with Manisa Basket. The first order of business is to get by the Niners Chemnitz so they can continue to move forward in the Basketball Champions League.