Adonis Thomas #4

Played in only 19 of the Tigers’ 35 games … Made eight starts … Saw action in the first 16 games of the season before missing the next 16 contests as a result of an ankle injury (torn superior lateral peritoneal tendon reticulum) that required surgery and rehab … Suffered the injury in a Jan. 12, 2012, practice … Returned to action in the postseason … Averaged 8.8 points and 3.2 boards … Shot 48.6 percent from the floor, 40.5 percent from the three-point arc and 70.8 percent from the charity stripe … Had 15 assists, 14 blocked shots and 11 steals … Recorded six double-figure scoring games …

Postseason (NCAA/C-USA Tournaments): Played in three postseason games … Averaged 4.3 points and 1.3 boards … Shot 46.2 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from the three-point line … In the NCAA Tournament second-round setback to Saint Louis, scored six points (3-of-4 FG) and added one rebound, one blocked shot and one steal in 15 minutes of play … In the C-USA Tournament (two games), averaged 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds and shot 33.3 percent from the field … Did not see game action in the C-USA Tournament championship game victory over Marshall … Scored five points, grabbed one board and dished out one assist in the C-USA Tournament semifinal win over UCF … Had two points and one rebound in the C-USA Tournament quarterfinal win over UTEP …

Conference USA play: Played in only two league contests … Missed the final 14 conference contests as a result of an ankle injury (torn superior lateral peritoneal tendon reticulum) that required surgery and rehab … Averaged 10.5 points and 1.5 boards … Had four assists, four blocked shots and two steals … Shot 69.2 percent from the floor, 66.7 percent from the three-point arc and 50 percent from the free throw line … Suffered the ankle injury in a Jan. 12 practice following the Southern Miss game at FedExForum … In his final C-USA regular-season action, scored six points and added two rebounds, one assist, one blocked shot and one steal in a home win over the Golden Eagles … In his first career C-USA contest, had 15 points, one rebound, three assists, three blocked shots and one steal in a road win at UAB … Scored his 15 points of 7-of-8 FG and 1-of-2 treys … The three blocks were a season high and the three assists tied a season best … With Tigers clinging to a 62-59 lead, blocked a Blazers three-point attempt to tie the game with only :03 on the clock … Scored six-straight, second-half points to turn a 47-45 deficit into a 51-48 lead … Accounted for five-consecutive points early in the second half that turned a 34-all tie into a 39-34 lead … Hit a three-pointer that broke the 34-all tie with 15:54 left and then assisted on Will Barton’s dunk 50 seconds later …

Non-conference play (regular season games only): Played in 14 of the Tigers’ 15 non-league contests … Averaged 9.6 points and 3.9 boards … Had 10 assists, nine blocked shots and eight steals … Shot 46.5 percent from the floor, 38.7 percent from the three-point line and 72.7 percent from the charity stripe … Missed the Xavier game as a result of the ankle injury … Scored four points and added five boards and two assists in a home victory over Tennessee … Had a rim-rattling baseline dunk that gave Memphis an early first-half lead vs. the Volunteers … Had four points and three rebounds in a home win over Charlotte … Had 15 points (6-of-9 FG, 1-of-1 treys, 2-of-4 FT), four boards and one steal in a home win over Robert Morris … Scored nine points and added three rebounds, one assist and one steal in a road loss at Georgetown … Nearly posted a double-double with an 18-point, nine-rebound performance vs. Lipscomb … Had season highs of eight FG made and 13 FG attempts vs. Lipscomb … Had nine points, four rebounds, one assist and two blocked shots in a road setback at Louisville … Lone scoreless game of the season came in a home loss to Murray State (18 minutes played) … Recorded first double-digit rebounding game of career with 10 boards in a road victory at Miami, Fla. … Also scored eight points vs. the Hurricanes … Had 17 points (6-of-9 FG, 5-of-6 treys), four rebounds and three assists (no turnovers) in a home win over Austin Peay … The five treys made and six trey attempts both were season bests … Four of his five three-pointers came in the first half vs. the Governors … Had a season-high three steals and nine points in a home win over Jackson State … Scored five points in a loss to Georgetown in the Maui Invitational … Netted a season-high 19 points and added four rebounds, two blocked shots and one steal in a win over Tennessee in the Maui Invitational … Had five points, two boards and two blocked shots in a loss to Michigan in the Maui Invitational … In his collegiate debut, scored 12 points (5-of-9 FG, 1-of-2 treys, 1-of-2 FT), grabbed three rebounds and blocked one shot in the season-opening victory over Belmont.

A member of the National Honor Society at Melrose …

Played in the 2011 McDonald’s All-America Game, 2011 Jordan Brand Classic and 2011 Nike Hoops Summit … Scored four points and added two boards and two assists for the West All-Americans in the Jordan Brand Classic held in Charlotte, N.C. … Posted two points, two blocks and one board in the Nike Hoops Summit … Helped lead the USA Junior National Team to a 92-80 win over the World Select Team at the Nike Hoops Summit … Scored two points for the West Team in the McDonald’s All-America Game held in Chicago, Ill. … The 13th overall player from the city of Memphis to play in the McDonald’s All-America Game and fourth player in the last six years …

Named the state of Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Gatorade National Player of the Year honor … A finalist for Tennessee’s Class AAA Mr. Basketball honor in 2010-11 … Became the fifth player in the city of Memphis history to be named to the Parade magazine All-America first team … Also named to SLAMmagazine’s All-America squad … Earned Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Class AAA All-State honors …

Averaged 19.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.9 blocks, 4.1 assists and 3.6 steals in helping lead Melrose to a 26-7 overall record … Scored 15 points in Melrose’s District 16-AAA championship game win over White Station … Netted a game-high 27 points in a loss to White Station in the Region 8-AAA title contest …

Entering 2010-11, the Golden Wildcats were rated as one of the country’s top teams, including a No. 4 preseason national ranking from MaxPreps.com and a No. 6 ranking from ESPN.com/RISE … ESPN.com/RISE also has Melrose ranked the No. 2 team in the Southeast Region and the No. 1 team in the state of Tennessee …

Rated the No. 1 player in the nation by The Sporting News… Also among the top-10 players in the country by MaxPreps.com (No. 3), ESPNU 100 (No. 8) and Scout.com (No. 8) … Rivals.com rated him the No. 15 overall player in the country … For position rankings, ranked the No. 2 small forward in the nation by ESPNU, MaxPreps.com and Scout.com and rated the No. 6 small forward by Rivals.com … Considered the top hoops prospect in the state of Tennessee …

During the summer of 2010, played with Team USA as a member of the under-17 squad … Team USA played in the FIBA Under-17 Championships in Hamburg, Germany … Helped lead Team USA to the gold medal … Averaged 8.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in eight games … Also played in the prestigious Boost Mobile Elite 24 in Venice Beach, Calif., this past summer …

Played for Team USA in the summer of 2009 in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Argentina … Team USA won that tournament … Averaged 13.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in five games …

As a junior in 2009-10, helped lead Melrose to a 37-4 overall record and the Tennessee Class AAA state crown … The state championship was Melrose’s first since 1983 … En route to the state title, Melrose won the Region 8-AAA and District 16-AAA crowns … Averaged 19.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.2 blocks, 4.3 assists and 3.7 steals for the Golden Wildcats … Was a finalist for the Class AAA Mr. Basketball honor … Named to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Class AAA All-State team … Also selected to the Tennessee Class AAA All-Tournament Team and the District 16-AAA All-Tournament squad … Named to Commercial Appeal’sBest of the Preps squad …

In 2008-09 as a sophomore, averaged 16 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.3 blocks and 2.1 assists in helping lead Melrose to a 29-7 overall record … The Golden Wildcats appeared in the Region 8-AAA title game and advanced to the Tennessee state tournament … Started all 36 games … Earned All-District 16-AAA and all-league honors … Named to the Region 8-AAA All-Tournament Team … A Commercial AppealBest of the Preps honoree …

As a freshman in 2007-08, started all 32 games and averaged 11.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks … Melrose finished with a 17-15 overall record … Earned All-District 16-AAA and all-league accolades … Garnered Commercial AppealBest of the Preps distinction.

Why did you choose the University of Memphis?

The dedication and loyalty of the recruiting process by the coaching staff, my teammates, the coaching staff, it’s home, the fan support, and my family gets to watch me play.

How is it playing for Coach Pastner?

Coach Pastner is a great guy. Very loyal. Great mentor and role model.

What has been the most influential or beneficial tip that Coach Pastner or his staff has ever said to you?

“Nothing is a secret.”

What are your thoughts about playing in an NBA arena like the FedEx Forum?

Great feeling. Big atmosphere. LOUD fans.

Who is the funniest person on the team, practical joker, etc?

Adonis Thomas, me!

Up to this point, what is your all time career highlight?

McDonald’s All American

What things did the Team need to work on during the off season?

Work ethic, growth and development on skills

Which athlete has influenced you the most in how you play and your drive to play?

Kevin Durant

Where is your favorite place to eat when you are hanging with the guys?

Benihana’s

When you need a break, what do you do?

Writing poetry……

When did you first realize just how dedicated the city of Memphis is to their Tigers?

My first Memphis tiger game.

If you could tell people who aren’t from here one thing about Memphis, what would it be?

This city loves Memphis Tiger Basketball.

What is the one thing you are most proud of when it comes to the City of Memphis?

The support!

Jookin is the newest dance craze to originate in Memphis. Can you Jook and if not, what is your best dance move?

Oh yeah, I can Jook.

Memphis has a prominent place in America’s musical history. Who is your favorite Memphis artist, group, or musician?

Yo Gotti