This Christmas meant a little more to one member of the Creighton men’s basketball team.
While opening presents with his family, redshirt freshman guard Shane Thomas found a surprise. Inside a gift he thought was from his grandma, Thomas found a letter from Creighton sharing that he has been placed on full scholarship.
What a wonderful Christmas present. Shane is now on full athletic scholarship at Creighton. Thank you Coach Mac and the staff for believing in him. Let’s go Jays!! pic.twitter.com/O221NDe1Yv
— Derek Thomas,NBCT (@coachDThomas84) December 25, 2024
“That was probably the best Christmas I ever had,” Thomas said. “It was an unexpected gift, but it was the best gift of all … I don’t usually cry a lot, but that was a such an emotional time for me and my family. They know I’ve been through tough times and ups and downs that I’ve been through. It’s been tough for me and my family, but just to see that all the hard work paid off, it was just a blessing.”
Administrative assistant John McKew came up with the idea of revealing the news via a Christmas present, and his sisters — who all played Division I basketball as well — told him it was from his grandma to maintain the element of surprise.
“I’m glad they caught it on video,” Coach Greg McDermott said. “You just could see the raw emotion and the joy, not just for Shane, but his parents and his sisters.”
Thomas said regardless of whatever happens the rest of his career, it will be difficult to bump this gift off the top of his list of favorite moments as a Bluejay.
“I went straight to my phone, texted Coach Mac and thanked him for everything, thanked him for believing in me, because it was just a great present,” said Thomas, whose teammates bombarded him with congratulations in their group chat after learning the news.
Thomas is a Las Vegas native who prepped at Red Rock Academy in 2022-23 before committing to Creighton as a walk-on. He redshirted last year, putting in work on the scout team to help prepare the starters before getting a chance to see the court this season. With Larry Johnson and Sterling Knox both leaving the team, it opened up space to put Thomas on scholarship.
“It’s rewarding,” McDermott said. “Shane’s dad coached Division I basketball for a long time. He’s worked really hard. He got an opportunity to give this Division I thing a shot at this level, and then to do all the things right, to put yourself in position where you earn a scholarship is a credit to him and his work ethic and how he’s approached things on a daily basis. So it was fun. It was neat to see the emotion of his family just celebrating the fact that all of Shane’s hard work paid off.”
McDermott spoke highly of Thomas’ potential as an athlete and defender last season, but he’s made enough strides on the offensive end of the floor to earn his way into the rotation this year. He has played in 11 games as a defensive spark off the bench, contributing 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
“He really improved from last year to this year,” McDermott said. “His body got better. Defensively, I’ve always been impressed with him, but he continued to grow on the offensive end as well. His understanding of what we’re doing from a systematic standpoint is really good. He’s a great teammate. He’s about all the right things. So I saw it coming. And obviously we’ve had confidence to throw him into some games in some pretty big times.”
Thomas said the work he put in during his redshirt year allowed his confidence to grow to the point where he was able to make some big plays in important moments when McDermott has called his number — most notably the second half against Notre Dame. With the injuries, illnesses and departures Creighton has dealt with in the backcourt, Thomas has played an important role along with freshman Ty Davis.
“Thank goodness he came back ready with what has transpired from an injury standpoint,” McDermott said. “Defensively, he gives us someone we can go to that can guard a bigger guy, guard quickness, and he understands the scouting report, he follows it pretty well. So he’s been a godsend with the way he’s been playing.”
Thomas said he knows his role and tries to make an impact any way he can in his brief stints on the court. He said Creighton men’s basketball is like a family, and he’s happy to play his role.
With the roster caps coming to men’s basketball — up to 15 scholarships allowed but no more than 15 players allowed on a roster — stories like Thomas’ will become rare at the Division I level. McDermott said he hasn’t thought too much about how he’ll manage his roster under the new rules, but he’s committed to the players on his roster now and still sees a role for walk-ons in his program.
“It’s unfortunate that guys that are currently walk-ons aren’t grandfathered into that, but I’m not going to leave a guy that’s committed to our program and paid his own way for a few years, I’m not leaving him hanging,” McDermott said. “So if I have to hold a spot, I’m going to hold a spot. Loyalty has to be a two-way street, not a one-way street.”
