Adonis Thomas Commits to the University of Memphis

Adonis Thomas, a five star small forward who plays for Melrose in Memphis, Tennessee, has given his verbal commitment to play basketball for the University of Memphis. While many expected the Tigers to be the team that would eventually land Adonis Thomas, the commitment was still a relief for most of Tiger Nation. Josh Pastner and his staff focused their attention on Adonis Thomas at the expense of other recruits.

Landing Adonis Thomas was a great pick up for the University of Memphis for a couple of reasons. The first is his incredible talent. Adonis Thomas has been rated as high as the number one prospect in the country by some and is rarely seen outside of the top ten. He is a wonderful offensive player, but he is truly special because of what he can offer on defense and rebounding.

It's also important because for the second year in a row, Pastner was able to land Memphis's top recruit, last year he signed point guard Joe Jackson of White Station. What's even better is that Adonis Thomas is also academically focused and talented.

This commitment signifies many things to Tiger fans. The first is that Pastner's recruiting last year was not a fluke. While everyone considered him to be a great recruiter before accepting the head coaching job for Memphis, they also knew it's much easier to recruit for established coaches like Lute Olsen and John Calipari. Landing Adonis Thomas also showed that it will be very hard for other programs to land elite level talent from Memphis. Finally, the commitment made it clear that Memphis can land recruits that are concerned with the level of education that they will receive while in school.

The future looks bright, and fans have a reason to celebrate.