Reports: ASU foward Khalid Thomas enters transfer portal
Mar 30, 2020, 12:01 PM
Arizona State forward Khalid Thomas (20) controls the ball as Washington State guard Jervae Robinson (1) pursues during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 7, 2020, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
Arizona State junior Khalid Thomas has entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports. The move comes less than a year after he committed to play for the Sun Devils as a transfer out of the College of Southern Idaho.
The 6-foot-9, 210-pound forward averaged 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game. He scored in double-figures twice last year, on Nov. 26 in a win over Princeton and Feb. 1 in a victory against Washington.
While the floor-spacing forward started three games and made 23 appearances for head coach Bobby Hurley, he struggled to earn playing time in an undersized frontcourt.
Small forwards Kimani Lawrence and Taeshon Cherry earned most of the playing time at the two forward spots, while veteran Mickey Mitchell and freshman Jalen Graham also played backup minutes ahead of Thomas.
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After a strong freshman year, Thomas suffered a down sophomore campaign at the College of Southern Idaho, averaging just 8.6 points and appearing in only 16 games.
Nonetheless, he decommitted from Texas Tech last May and later agreed to join ASU while rated as the No. 2 junior college recruit in the nation, according to 247 Sports. In the 2019 recruiting class, Arizona State also reeled in the No. 5 junior college player in Alonzo Verge, who won the Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year Award during his first year with the Sun Devils.
Thomas is the second ASU player to leave the program this offseason. Guard Elias Valtonen, a sophomore, announced he was leaving the Sun Devils on March 17.
