JJ Original: No More Doubting Thomas, Rob is Fighting Back

Rob Thomas has waited nearly 2 years to make an impact on the Men’s Basketball team at St. John’s. This is his first full season playing for the Storm and already he is making an impact. What can we expect from Rob Thomas? JohnnyJungle.com’s Kenny Walter reports.

http://www.johnnyjungle.com/No_More_Doubting_Thomas_Rob_Is_Fighting_Back

A funny side note if you look up Rob Thomas basketball on youtube this is what you get....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVSu-LAi0Zw&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=rob%20thomas%20st.%20john's&ie=UTF-8&o&feature=player_embedded

Coming out of the stands cold....man this guy can shoot! Get him for a halftime contest at the Garden.

Great article, this kid sure has been through alot. Now I hope his hard work pays off

I'd like to see him get in better shape.  He's not really cutup right now like some of the other players on the team.  It's hard not to be chizzled when you are playing basketball 15 hours a week.  Damn...at 235 that is probably burning 1400 calories an hour, which translates into a full pound in a 2.5 hour session.

Get this boy some protein!!!

Is Thomas ever expected to regain his former athleticism?

It seems odd if the answer is no, because I had a friend that slipped on a wet spot on the court and tore his ACL, MCL, PCL, and broke his leg. He seems to be just as athletic today as he was before the injury. He played college volleyball, so he had some hops, and if anything, age is the reason for any diminishment since college, not any lingering effects from the tears.

I know each injury is different, but my friend's was pretty gruesome, too. He used the '49ers' doctor, but I assume Thomas didn't see a quack. I also can't imagine that my friend rehabbed any harder than a D1 athlete, especially since he smokes a lot of weed and can drink with the best of them.

Is Thomas ever expected to regain his former athleticism?

It seems odd if the answer is no, because I had a friend that slipped on a wet spot on the court and tore his ACL, MCL, PCL, and broke his leg. He seems to be just as athletic today as he was before the injury. He played college volleyball, so he had some hops, and if anything, age is the reason for any diminishment since college, not any lingering effects from the tears.

I know each injury is different, but my friend's was pretty gruesome, too. He used the '49ers' doctor, but I assume Thomas didn't see a quack. I also can't imagine that my friend rehabbed any harder than a D1 athlete, especially since he smokes a lot of weed and can drink with the best of them.

Honestly, a lot of people that tear ligaments chose not to get them fixed at all and can live a fairly normal life.  It is the extreme athlete that suffers because he relies on cutting. 

I think Rob can regain his old form.  Maybe not 100% but pretty damn close to it.  It seems to me, as purely an observer, that his physical conditioning is holding him back just as much. 

I don't think Rob is only recovering from his injury but rather shaking off the rust from not playing the year prior as well. 2 year layoff + rehabbing from a one year injury is no easy task.

When talking to Rob in the preseason he said he feels better than he has in a long time but he admitted to me he is a bit timid/afraid of re-injuring himself when taking it to the hole which is only natural human reaction. He doesn't have the same explosiveness quite yet but he was quick to add that he still has his J(something I haven't seen yet this season mostly scoring inside the paint).

I don't know if Rob is going to have to go through a Grant Hill transformation post injury or whether he is going to be like Forest Gump running shedding his metal after he realizes he can do it.

This team needs all the help it can get. If I were Norm, I'd give him 10 more games, and then send him to hypnotherapy if he is still playing timid out of fear of reinjury. Probably too new-agey for a D1 athlete, but it works wonders with people afraid of flying.

I had the pleasure to meet Rob earlier in the season. Can't help but root for this young man. He is such a nice kid and was very accomadating to my 6 year old nephew who asked him for his autograph. With mason out we need him to step up and contribute on a nightly basis if this team expects to go anywhere this season. So far he has shown signs but is obviously nowhere near the player he was a few years ago. Which is fine. His explosiveness may be gone but he still has a nose for the ball and the ability to finish with either hand in the paint. If he can give us close to 10 and 6 off the bench he will be doing his job.

  It seems to me, as purely an observer, that his physical conditioning is holding him back just as much. 

It has been a constant battle for him since high school...

He's certainly starting to pick his game up, but we're going to need his points and rebounds come big east play.
4 and 4 isn't gonna do. We need him to be a 13 and 7 guy come January.

He's certainly starting to pick his game up, but we're going to need his points and rebounds come big east play.
4 and 4 isn't gonna do. We need him to be a 13 and 7 guy come January.

So you think he should be the team's #2 scorer & #1 rebounder come January..

Last season MAson Jr lead the team with 14ppg and JB led team 6/rpg

If Rob could get 8 - 10ppg and 5 rpg he would be making a major contribution to thge team

Rob's PPM(point per minute) and RPM(rebound per minute) are very very good. If Rob can continue to contribute when he gets in I think we should all be happy about that.

Quote from: Poison on December 04, 2008, 10:20:11 AM

He's certainly starting to pick his game up, but we're going to need his points and rebounds come big east play.
4 and 4 isn't gonna do. We need him to be a 13 and 7 guy come January.

So you think he should be the team's #2 scorer & #1 rebounder come January..

Last season MAson Jr lead the team with 14ppg and JB led team 6/rpg

If Rob could get 8 - 10ppg and 5 rpg he would be making a major contribution to thge team

So far, it seems to me that the only thing stopping him is his time on the floor.
What would he put up with 30 minutes a game based on his production now?

Quote from: pmg911 on December 04, 2008, 11:02:20 AM

Quote from: Poison on December 04, 2008, 10:20:11 AM

He's certainly starting to pick his game up, but we're going to need his points and rebounds come big east play.
4 and 4 isn't gonna do. We need him to be a 13 and 7 guy come January.

So you think he should be the team's #2 scorer & #1 rebounder come January..

Last season MAson Jr lead the team with 14ppg and JB led team 6/rpg

If Rob could get 8 - 10ppg and 5 rpg he would be making a major contribution to thge team

So far, it seems to me that the only thing stopping him is his time on the floor.
What would he put up with 30 minutes a game based on his production now?

Fair question but I just don't see Norm giving him those minutes...

Brother aint lastin 30 mins on the floor.

would be nice if we could get 8-10 points from him.  He definitely has a nose for the basket but he's still shaking off some rust.

Brother aint lastin 30 mins on the floor.

**Side Note**

Choz. . you going to be around for the Fred Neal Christmas Tournament..?

If Rob somehow got 30 minutes I guarantee he'd lead the team in rebounds.  He has a nose for the ball like you wouldn't believe.

Through 7 cupcake games Rob is averaging:

8.6 min/g   2.4 reb/g  and 4.3 ppg

I'd hope we'd all be extremely happy if his #'s doubled to:
17 min/g
5 reb/g
8 ppg

I think he's played primarily the 4 against the smaller teams.

Has he regained the speed to cover 3's ?