About The McDuffie progress. (Thomson, Ga.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2023)
Wi)t MtBufliz ^rogregg www.mcduffieprogress.com Page 11B Thursday, May 4, 2023 Cordaro Crawford, Vonteego Cummings, Ron Spry, Chris Norris, Jason Smith, and Michael Thomas Jr. were a part of the “Locker Room” panel, where they talked about Coach Thomas and reminisced about their favorite phrases. The McDuffie Progress/Brian Hobbs Liz Thomas got up and spoke about her hus band and the journey he’s been on over the last four decades. industries, but to also do it with her family meant a lot. Hill said that in the process of working with her family she realized that the Thomson boys' basket ball program is a family business. The director said they shot at the high school in the gym and in the locker room. They also shot some at Sweetwater Park, the Brickyard, and in the Thomas household. “The theme around the interviews was that Coach Thomas is a father figure,” Hill said. Hill said another positive aspect of working on the project was getting to know Thomson. “The process was amaz ing. Like I said, it was very intimate,” Hill said. “Every time I interviewed Coach Thomas, I felt just honored to know him.” She added that she’s become increasingly excit ed to share this story Filming started in September or October of 2021 just as the team started practices for the season. Coach Thomas’s wife, Liz, showed her gratitude to everyone that come out to the event that was held on Sunday, April 30, at Thomson High School to premier the movie. “Thank everybody for coming out and showing love and appreciation for this man that has gone on this 40-year run,” Liz Thomas said. Coach Thomas said he was pleased with the film and how the premier went. “Certainly, I was honored by the lot of people that came out and all the won derful things they said,” Coach Thomas said. “Based on the first part of the doc umentary, it seems like it was well put together.” He said he is looking for ward to the rest of the docuseries being released. Coach Thomas said he didn’t consider the filming to be a distraction through out the process, even during the season. He commended the job Hill and her team did especially with how pro fessional they were. Coach Thomas said he hopes that anyone who tunes in to the series gets and inside look at what they do in the Thomson basket ball program. “Hopefully (they) have a better understanding of why we do what we do,” Thomas said. “We didn’t dress it up for TV, and we didn’t hold anything back.” He said he was grateful to everyone that came out and showed their support on Sunday evening. The premier event Those who were in atten dance Sunday were treated to the first episode of the docuseries and a panel of former and current coaches and former and current players. The first panel — Bench Chat — featured former coaches Chuck Graham and John Barnett, and cur rent assistant coaches Nelson Dukes and Malique and Kel Gibbons. This panel was moderated by Gabriel Stovall. Graham said he learned a lot from Coach Thomas dur ing his time as an assistant both on and off the court. He said he learned work-life balance from him. Former THS football coach Barnett said he arrived at Thomson the same time as Coach Thomas, in 1982. “One of the things that really stands out that I remember, very early on when he started coaching basketball,” Barnett said. “He inherited a really good team, but he had to get them to buy into his way, and I was in the gym one after noon during practice, no idea why I was there because football season was over, and one of his very best players was sitting up in the stands and I asked one of the other players, I said 'What’s wrong with him? Why is he not out there practicing?"' The answer? "He won’t do what Coach Thomas told him to do,” the player told Barnett. That instance impressed Barnett because a young coach was setting the standard with his team from the jump. He said he doubts anyone else will ever coach at Thomson High School as long as Coach Thomas has. According to Dukes, a cur rent assistant coach, coach ing for 40 years takes a tremendous amount of dis cipline. “You have to be able to pri oritize your entire life and to do it for 40 years. That’s half of your life,” Dukes said, noting that he isn't sure he could maintain for that long. “You've got to be a special individual to do it,” Dukes said. “There’s so much you’re going to miss. There’s so many things you have to make decisions on, and the kids, the communi ty, the “T” and what it rep resents, and I’m just speak ing here, that has to be at the forefront.” He said he’s in awe of Coach Thomas for doing it for so long. Malique Gibbons, a cur rent assistant coach, echoed Dukes's comment that you have to be a special individual to coach as long as he has. “For me, 40 years, I don’t know about that,” Malique Gibbons said as everyone started laughing. He said that one thing that sticks out is how consistent Coach Thomas has been, each and every day Graham said one thing he learned from Coach Thomas is how he coaches with love, and how he’s able to build relationships. Malique Gibbons said the principles Coach Thomas has taught them — SDCHW — is something he lives by to this day Kel Gibbons, a current assistant coach, said he wanted to let Coach Thomas know how thank ful he is for the numerous opportunities he’s been given. He said he was able to attend college after Coach Thomas reached out to a coach and he received a full scholarship. The second panel — Locker Room —featured some of Coach Thomas' for mer players: Vonteego Cummings, Cordaro Crawford, Chris Norris, Michael Thomas Jr., and Jason Smith. This panel was moderated by Ron Spry former basketball coach at Paine College. Michael Thomas Jr. said one thing he learned from his father was the self-disci pline part of the SDCHW creed. “The ability to make your self do what you know you need to do, to me is vitally important, not only for me when I played basketball, but also outside of that, as far as schoolwork, now as a husband and father,” he said. He said being able to make yourself do what is neces sary to achieve the results you’re seeking started at home and within the Thomson basketball pro gram. Smith said he sometimes hears a voice in the back of his head from his playing days that says, “There’s only one way to do it and that’s the right way” “I don’t care if I’m doing something personal for myself or I’m working on a client,” Smith said. Norris said one thing he learned from Coach Thomas was leadership, and that it wasn't always about basketball. “He oftentimes told us that beyond this court, there’s another court and another game that you have to be proficient in,” Norris said. “I definitely would say lead ership more than anything.” Cummings echoed Norris and added that he learned to do the right thing even when people are not watching. Crawford, now THS Athletic Director, said the self-discipline portion is always key “If you’re not disciplined within yourself to always do the right thing, to be who you’re supposed to be, and do it to the best of your abil ity, then you’re going to have some shortcomings to where things don’t work out the way it’s supposed to work out,” Crawford said. Crawford said what made their teams good was that they followed what previ ous groups did before them. Smith agreed with Crawford in saying that watching the older guys put in the work to get where they wanted to was key Cummings said one thing that today’s athletes and parents can learn from Coach Thomas and his pro gram is patience. The third panel — The Huddle — featured current players JaQuan Hart and Jahkiaus Jones with Dukes as the moderator. When asked what he knew about the legacy of Thomson basketball, Jones said growing up he knew once he reached high school, he wanted to player for Coach Thomas. Hart said he knew that in order to play basketball in Thomson, you had to be dedicated, and that Coach Thomas has had a meaning ful impact on him. “He shows you how to be a man and there’s more to life than basketball,” Hart said. “You have to put the work in to get what you want.” Jones echoed that senti ment. Dukes brought up a mem ory of when Hart blocked a 6’8" player who tried to dunk on him during their run to the Final Four. Jones said he remem bered Coach Thomas urg ing him not to give up when he missed a shot during his freshman year. “That always stuck with me,” Jones said. Both said Coach Thomas showed them that life is big ger than basketball by help ing them off the court as well, with simple things like giving them rides and making sure they’re doing the right thing. The McDuffie Progress/Brian Hobbs Head Coach Michael Thomas addressed those in attendance at the event. The McDuffie Progress/Brian Hobbs (L-R): Mikaela Thomas, Nadia Lowe, Natina Hill, and Michael Thomas Jr. spoke during the “Final Four” panel, and talked about the creative process of making the docuseries.
