When Ryan Odom and his staff were putting together their first roster this offseason, one commitment made more waves than the others: San Francisco transfer guard Malik Thomas.
Rumors had emerged beforehand
about the potential match of Thomas and the Virginia Cavaliers, but whether or not Thomas would in fact wind up in a UVA uniform this season was in the hands of the NCAA. Thomas needed a waiver in order to be eligible for the 2025-26 season after playing two years at Southern California followed by two at San Francisco.
He got that waiver – having played less than 20 total minutes across nine appearances as a freshman at USC – and will now get one final season at the college level. Luckily for Odom and company, Thomas chose Virginia for his last dance.
Who is Malik Thomas?
The Fontana, Calif., native was Odom’s biggest get in the portal this offseason. The addition of Thomas immediately raised the bar for what Virginia can achieve this season with his wealth of experience and high-level production.
We received confirmation to that end in last week’s exhibition against Villanova. He led the Cavaliers with 16 points against the Wildcats, shooting 5-for-10 from the floor including 3-of-4 from deep, sparking optimism that the jump from the WCC to power conference basketball will be no problem for him.
It’s fair to expect him to be the go-to scorer from the jump. Thomas scored 19.9 points per game last season, ranking No. 22 nationally and first in the WCC and earning First Team All-WCC honors. He capped off his senior year at San Francisco with 27 points, including five threes, against Gonzaga in the WCC semifinals, before dropping a career-high 36-points against Loyola-Chicago in the second round of the NIT two games later.
How does Malik Thomas fit into Ryan Odom’s plans?
Odom and his staff placed a clear emphasis on three-point shooting when building this entire roster. That’s not all that surprising in the modern era, but especially so when you consider Odom’s VCU team last season ranked No. 22 nationally in three-point attempts per game.
Nearly every player they brought in is a guy you can be confident in when they launch from deep. Thomas fits that mold, and will likely be one of Virginia’s highest volume three-point shooters. After hitting 40.0% of his threes on 3.6 attempts per game as a junior two years ago, Thomas followed up with 39.4% on 5.3 attempts per game last season.
Then you figure in his 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame and, despite not being the quickest or the longest player on the floor, Thomas will be an imposing physical force on both ends. A year ago he was particularly adept at getting to the free throw line, highlighted by a 17-for-17 performance at the charity stripe in the aforementioned Loyola-Chicago game.
Even if Thomas is Virginia’s top scorer this season, it isn’t likely that he will carry quite the same workload he shouldered at San Francisco with what should be a deeper and more talented group of players around him. That’s not to say that on a given night he can’t take over. His senior season at San Francisco provided ample evidence that he can be the go-to guy every time down the floor.
Can Malik Thomas make the jump to the ACC?
Arguably, the biggest question facing Thomas will be how he adapts to power conference basketball. While the top of the WCC is strong with the likes of Gonzaga and St. Mary’s, the athleticism and length Thomas will face on a nightly basis at the power conference level will make everything more challenging.
To his credit, Thomas proved himself more than capable against San Francisco’s top opponents last season. In the nine games he played against KenPom top-125 teams last season, Thomas scored 26.5 points per game, up from his season average of 19.9. Now, he will try to maintain that level of play while playing tougher competition on a far more frequent basis.
Monday’s season opener against Rider won’t provide much of an answer to that question, nor will any of Virginia’s first four opponents. The Cavaliers don’t play a power conference opponent until late November when they face Northwestern and Butler at the Greenbrier Tip-Off the weekend before Thanksgiving. Two games later, Thomas and the Cavaliers go on the road for the first time to face the Texas Longhorns in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Dec. 3. After that, we’ll have a decent sample size to judge Thomas’s ability to adjust to power conference basketball before the ACC opener Dec. 31 against Virginia Tech.
