Isaiah Thomas. The name rings a bell, and if you hear the name often enough today, the bell could toll for North Carolina.
Isaiah Thomas, Washington's lethal junior guard, won his name in a losing bet.
His father, James Thomas, assumed beyond a reasonable doubt that his beloved Los Angeles Lakers would beat Detroit in the 1989 NBA Finals. He bet a friend, whose preferred payoff was naming the Thomas child after the Pistons' superstar guard, Isiah Thomas.
That's what happened, after the child's mother, Bettina Baldtrip, agreed to the deal.
She had one condition, a different spelling that conformed to the prophet Isaiah in the Bible.
There are other differences. The Huskies' Isaiah Thomas is a lefty, barely 5-foot-9. A shooter by nature, he developed various point guard skills after changing positions and schools as a teen. Thomas grew up in Tacoma but, working to bolster his academic stats, finished at a Connecticut prep school.
In the recent Pac-10 tournament, Thomas scored 28 points and hit an overtime buzzer-beater to win the championship 77-75 along with his second straight MVP award. In the NCAA opener on Friday, Thomas scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half and converted four foul shots in the last minute of a 68-65 victory against Georgia.
All the while, he smiled constantly, often at his father. "I look at my dad a lot in the game," he said. "I don't know why. Just always have."
He smiles a lot anyway, regardless of the specific spectators. Coach Lorenzo Romar equates the behavior to Magic Johnson's effervescent joy as a flashy floor leader.
"Isaiah is one of those players," Romar said. "It's a game within the game. He's not just playing the game, but in his mind, he's having fun. At times he's entertaining himself, but it's not a case where he's just going out there as an individual worried about himself. He is a true winner."
Thomas has the shots, the moves and the verve to cause Carolina enormous problems.
Clemson's Demontez Stitt broke down the Tar Heels' half-court defense in the ACC semifinals. Nolan Smith eviscerated that defense during Duke's championship blowout. Long Island, fueled by lazy Carolina passes, repeatedly stormed down the floor for transition baskets while scoring 87 points Friday.
Washington dances to the LIU beat, averaging 83 points, and Thomas intends to keep things hopping.
"I'm going to do what I always do, try to force the action, be very aggressive to make plays for my teammates and get in the paint," he said. "I mean, a team like that, you still got to run your stuff. You still got to do what got you here."
Point guard Kendall Marshall, who will help Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald defend Thomas, identifies quickness as his opponent's first asset. "He gets to the basket well and finishes," Marshall said. "He's the motor on their team."
The motor averages 16.9 points while shooting 45 percent overall and 35 percent on 3-pointers. He feeds teammates passes, leading the Pac-10 with six assists a game, but prefers feeding himself Skittles and Cocoa Puffs.
Comparisons to NBA star Isiah Thomas generally end soon after the last name. Analysts and fans tend to see a reflection of Nate Robinson, a 5-9 guard who led Washington to the Sweet 16 and gained recognition as the NBA dunk champion. After talking to Robinson, Thomas chose to wear his jersey, No. 2.
In another word-association game, Thomas was asked his first impulse upon hearing about Carolina basketball.
"Michael Jordan," he said. "I mean, the best player to ever play the game went there, and then they've got a lot of legendary players. It's basically every kid's dream school. I mean, to go to North Carolina or play against them, it's legendary."
He will resume a life of legend-chasing around high noon.
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