Former Norfolk State star Jamarii Thomas flips commitment from VCU to South Carolina
Turns out former Norfolk State star Jamarii Thomas won’t be staying in the Commonwealth after all.
After announcing on social media April 30 he intended to transfer to VCU, Thomas flipped his commitment to South Carolina on Sunday. South Carolina officially announced Thomas had signed his national letter of intent Monday morning.
Thomas was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, and he also earned All-MEAC first-team and defensive-team honors.
His month-long trip in the transfer portal started on April 1, just five days after he helped Norfolk State win the CollegeInsider Tournament.
Thomas had a career year in his lone season for Norfolk State. The junior from Greensboro, North Carolina, notched career highs in almost every statistical category, including 16.9 points per game, 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals, while shooting 40% from the field and 38% from 3-point range.
That jump in production led to several programs vying for Thomas’ talent. On3’s Jamie Shaw reported Thomas heard from high-major programs including Iowa, Cal, Oklahoma State, Colorado, Cincinnati and Arizona the day after he hit the portal.
At first, it appeared VCU had beaten out all of those schools and more, but South Carolina swooped in to steal his commitment.
“I had a great visit with my mom and my little brother,” Thomas said of South Carolina to On3’s GamecockCentral. “They were very welcoming. The facilities, athletic trainer, strength coach, and everybody, the academic lady I met, everybody was just so genuine and loving. It felt like home and it made sense for me because I feel like I can play at the highest level and they believe I can too. It was just a combo of things that made sense for me and my family. It felt like a no-brainer.”
South Carolina will be Thomas’ third school, something that is becoming more common in this era of college sports. He initially transferred to Norfolk State after two seasons at UNC Wilmington.
Michael Sauls, (757) 803-5774, michael.sauls@virginiamedia.com
