The Long Wait For Thomas Finally Ends
At one point during the Washington Wizards’ recent minicamp, center Etan Thomas jumped up, grabbed a rebound, and kicked it out to Dee Brown to lead the fastbreak. Once the ball was swung around a few times, guard Nick Young finally fed Thomas the ball in the post. Thomas caught the ball, drop stepped, and threw it down with authority with his right hand.
A move like this during a practice should cause little to no fanfare for an eight-year veteran like Thomas. But given the events of the previous offseason, it is nothing short of impressive.
During a routine physical prior to the 2007-2008 season, doctors found an irregularity in Thomas’ heart. There was a leak in his aortic valve and it required immediate surgery. At the time, it was unknown when Thomas would be able to resume physical activity again, let alone rejoin his fellow Wizards.
Thomas triumphantly returned to practice in January 2008, but for non-contact drills only. In the following months, Thomas participated in practices and more strenuous drills, but he still had to take precaution. His sternum, which had been broken during the surgery, had yet to fully heal, and any hard blows would have trigged more surgery.
Thomas understood this, but he was still impatient.
“It was a long year of waiting,” Thomas said after Washington’s mini-camp on Friday. “And when you’re almost there, but not quite that’s the hardest part because there was a lot that I could do, but I couldn’t take any contact. And then I could take a little bit of contact, but not a lot. It was kind of frustrating but I listened to the doctors.”
To make things even more difficult for Thomas, the man he had previously been splitting playing time with, Brendan Haywood, was having a career year due to his increased playing time. As a team, the Wizards were still unable to stop LeBron James and much of his damage was done down the middle of the lane, an area that Thomas enforces when he is on the court.
This offseason has proved to be a much better one for Thomas. He gained full clearance from his doctors to resume full contact workouts and he started to work out with former NBA and University of Maryland star Tony Massenburg.
From there, Thomas decided he wanted to take it a step further and participate in minicamp—an unusual move for a veteran player, but a necessary one for Thomas
“[Massenburg] has been banging on me a lot and stuff like that. I’m feeling good. I don’t have any reservations or limitations or anything like that. [But] it’s different when you’re going in practice, in the structure, you’re going through drills and playing four-on-four and things of that nature. So, I just wanted to come out there and practice with those guys a little bit, get in some drills and coaching.”
Thomas decided not to go to Las Vegas to participate in the 2008 Summer League with the younger players, but he did say that he would continue to workout and lift weights close to home.
When asked if he would be ready for training camp, Thomas responded quickly and succinctly, “I’ll be fine, I’ll be ready to go.”
If Thomas’ assertion is correct, the next time he’ll be seen running, grabbing rebounds and dunking won’t be in an isolated, offseason practice. It will be during an NBA game which is where he belongs.
Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media
This article was written by:
Rashad Mobley - who has written 69 posts on Hoops Addict.
Rashad Mobley graduated with a B.S. in English Education, from Hampton University in Hampton, VA in 1996. He is a government consultant for the Department of Justice in Washington D.C., where he currently resides. Rashad is will be covering the Washington Wizards for HoopsAddict.com during the upcoming NBA season.
Comments
By neil on July 15th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Be good to see him back, we need that energy and toughness off the bench.