Farmington Guard Surpasses Expectations

FARMINGTON — Matt Thomas expected to lend a small hand into the Farmington boys basketball team’s drive to a successful season.

What the freshman didn’t anticipate was almost single-handedly taking over as the team’s go-to guy in clutch situations, time and time again.

Thomas, a 6-foot-3 guard, had grown accustomed to playing up against older competition even before his first game of high school basketball. As he worked his way through the Farmington system, Thomas made a habit of being moved up to play against the older boys.

The step up to varsity was different, and Cardinals’ coach Beau Thompson wasn’t sure, at first, how much of impact Thomas could actually make.

“We made the decision about this time a year ago to move him up,” Thompson said. “Skill-wise it was an easy decision, and it was made even easier because of what a good kid he is and how well he was already accepted by our high school kids. “But to be honest, I expected him to be score in the low-teens and create a lot of shots for other players. We never expected him to get the output he got this year.”

Thomas might have just been a ninth-grader in the classroom, but on the basketball court he was quick to adjust to the high school game. With the Cardinals in search of a top scoring threat, he quickly took over and guided Farmington through a tough nonconference stretch before eventually earning a share of the 4A-1 Conference championship.

And for his eff orts, Thomas has been named the All-NWA Media Boys’ Basketball Newcomer of the Year for schools in Class 5A and below.

“This year I surprised myself and a lot of people,” Thomas said. “I just have to thank my coaches and my teammates. They did a good job of preparing me and had confidence in me, and just let go out and play the way I play.”

Thomas averaged 18.3 points per game — far and away tops among all Farmington players — and scored in double figures in 25 of 27 games this season. More impressive than his overall scoring was when he scored. With the Cardinals caught up in several tight games in the conference race, it was Thomas who was counted on to pull the team out of the fi re.

“He had a knack for knowing when to step up and take over,” Thompson said. “But he’s also such a good passer of the basketball. He shares the basketball so well, and I think his greatest attribute is he is such a great pressure player.”