Junior year
First 14 games: 17.8 PPG, 63.8 FG PCT, 9.2 RPG, 3.5 BPG, 4 20-point games, 6 double-doubles, one ranked opponent, team went 9-5 mostly non-conference.
Final 19 games: 13.6 PPG, 55.2 FG PCT, 7.2 RPG, 2.2 BPG, 2 20-point games (both vs Temple), 3 double-doubles, seven ranked opponents, team went 8-11 mostly in the AAC.
Despite what those stats may look like they say, I'd still take him in a heart beat. AAC teams can shut down the best player on a bad team pretty easily. He's a stud, and we could have good enough pieces around him to let him flourish with our big centers and (hopefully) lethal guards spreading it all out for him.
Plus, Houston wasn't great last year, either.
Sophomore year
First 13 games: 17.4 PPG, 52.6 FG PCT, 9.9 RPG, 2.3 BPG, 6 20-point games, 6 double-doubles, 0 ranked opponents, team went 11-2 mostly non-conference.
Final 20 games: 16.7 PPG, 57.0 FG PCT, 9.7 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 6 20-point games, 7 double-doubles, 1 ranked opponent, team went 9-11 mostly in C-USA
So you see, it's not just a conference vs. non-conference struggle (although the AAC is much better than C-USA)
Career comparison
Thomas: 96 career games, 34 career double-doubles, 8.7 career RPG, 1,388 career points (14.5 PPG), 209 career blocks
We return: 194 combined games, 0 double doubles, 2.4 combined RPG , 931 combined points, 56 combined blocks (Manu, Davon, James Kelly, Tonye, Heller, Fernandez & Sorensen. This excludes Rodriguez & McClellan)
Incoming transfers
Rodriguez: 65 career games, 2 double-doubles, 640 career points (9.0 PPG), and he's a PG, so blocks/RPG minimal.
McClellan: 68 career games, 0 double-doubles, 3.4 RPG, 843 career points (12.4 PPG), and back to being a guard when it comes to blocks.
Sadly, to my knowledge, Thomas is a Jr so he'd have to sit out a year. But he'd probably make this young team a whole **** of a lot better.
