Daryl Thomas

{{Short description|American basketball player and coach (1965–2018)}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Daryl Thomas

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 7

| weight_lb = 240

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1965|5|25}}

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|3|28|1965|5|25}}

| death_place =

| high_school = St. Joseph (Westchester, Illinois)

| college = Indiana (1983–1987)

| draft_year = 1987

| draft_round = 4

| draft_pick = 120

| draft_team = Sacramento Kings

| career_start =

| career_end =

| career_number =

| career_position = Power forward / center

| years1 = 1987–1989

| team1 = Hemel & Watford Royals

| years2 = 1992

| team2 = Fargo-Moorhead Fever

| years3 = 1992–1993

| team3 = La Crosse Catbirds

| cyears1 = 2015–2018

| cteam1 = Montini Catholic HS

| highlights =

NCAA champion (1987)
Third-team Parade All-American (1983)

|image = Darryl Thomas.jpg

|caption = Darryl Thomas

}}

Daryl Thomas (May 25, 1965 – March 28, 2018) was an American basketball player and coach from Chicago, Illinois.

High school career

Thomas, a 6'7" forward, played high school basketball at Chicago-area St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, the same school that Isiah Thomas (no relation) had attended. He was both a McDonald's and Parade All-American in 1983.{{Cite web|url=https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2018/03/28/former-iu-basketball-player-daryl-thomas-dies-heart-attack/466772002/|title=Daryl Thomas has a special place in IU basketball history|date=March 29, 2018|accessdate=April 3, 2018}}

College career

Thomas was a starter for Indiana University under coach Bobby Knight from 1983 to 1987 scoring 1,095 points. Thomas was co-captain of the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team that won the 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Thomas scored 20 points and notably made the pass to Keith Smart, whose buzzer-beating shot gave the Hoosiers a one-point victory over Syracuse. Knight called Thomas' decision to pass the ball to Smart, who had a better shot, "the greatest single play I ever had a kid make."{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2018/03/29/daryl-thomas-starter-on-indianas-1987-title-team-dies/33380257/|title=Daryl Thomas, of Indiana University's 1987 title team, dies|date=March 29, 2018|accessdate=April 3, 2018}}

Professional career

The Sacramento Kings selected Thomas as the 120th pick in the 1987 NBA draft. He did not make the team and instead played professionally for 13 seasons in the UK, Poland and Dominican Republic.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} He also played one season in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), splitting time with the Fargo-Moorhead Fever and La Crosse Catbirds in the 1992–93 CBA season.1993–94 Official CBA Guide and Register, page 346.

Coaching career and death

In later years Thomas was a basketball coach at Montini Catholic High School near Chicago. Thomas died of a heart attack on March 28, 2018.{{Cite web|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/ct-spt-daryl-thomas-20180328-story.html|title=Daryl Thomas, Montini coach who starred at St. Joe's and Indiana, dies at 52|date=March 28, 2018|accessdate=April 3, 2018}}