On Wednesday senior point guard Jamarii Thomas of Burlington, NC/The Burlington School committed to UNC Wilmington over a final group that included NC A&T, Eastern Kentucky, Stetson and Winthrop.
Thomas said about his decision, “Knowing Coach Siddle is a winning coach and knowing that he will take me to the places I want to go.” Thomas went on to say, “Also, it isn’t too far from home, so my family can come to a lot of games.”
Thomas broke through this summer, as he picked up his first two division one offers, Winthrop and Stetson, during his time with Team Curry. The explosive 5’11” and 170-pound lead guard transferred for his senior season to Burlington School where he picked up his other three Division 1 offers, Eastern Kentucky, NC A&T and most recently UNC-Wilmington.
Thomas was on Wilmington’s radar for a while, as they recruited him for four months before they offered him. However, Thomas and the staff remained on the same page throughout.
“They’ve been recruiting me for about 4 months…They took a long time to offer because they didn’t know what they would need for next year.” Thomas continued, “When they were recruitment me they’ve always felt like I could come in and play a lot of minutes my freshman year, which was very big to me.”
As for what Thomas says about his game and what Wilmington is getting,
“UNCW is getting an ultimate competitor who is going to bring it every time I step on the court. Also, they are getting a true leader and a high character person.”
What type of player is Wilmington getting?
Thomas is a highly explosive, 5’11” and 170-pound, paint touch lead guard. He shows a competitive edge when he steps on the floor and will bring some fireworks to each game he plays.
Burlington School Head Coach Ryan Bernardi says, “Jamarii is a winner. He has won everywhere he has played and is a huge reason for our 8-2 start. He is in the paint all the time; he creates for others really well. He is shooting 84% from the free throw line on 9.4 attempts per game. When you live in the paint and can create for others, plus knock down free throws, you are hard to stop.”
Team Curry 17u Head Coach Sim Frazier agreed with what Bernardi said, “Jamarii has the reputation of being a dog, but I’d take it a step further and say he is a gamer. The bigger the game, the higher rated the opponent Jamarii embraced it and competed his tail off.”
Given Thomas’ ability to touch the paint, he also has a reputation for being a good teammate and great in the community.
Wilmington’s staff is getting a great person. Jamarii is a stud in the classroom and in the community. He is a people person who attracts others to him. On the court he will compete and lead, but I am grateful for the UNCW staff and excited to see him go there.”
Sim Frazier echoed similar thoughts, “Jamarii is a team first guy, whatever we asked him to do, he did it and did it at a high level. He was the first to show support when any teammate got an offer or announced a commitment.”
Thomas is UNC Wilmington’s fourth commitment of the 2021 cycle joining power forward Khamari McGriff (Tallahassee, FL/Rickards High), shooting guard Will McCracken (Cincinnati, OH/Moeller High) and small forward Trazarien White (McKinney, Tx/Collin College).
