MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thomas, Steve
Steve Thomas
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- mbb@depaul.edu
- Phone:
- (773) 325-7521
Steve Thomas joined the men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach in May 2021.
He helped the Blue Demons to a strong finish to the 2021-22 season that saw 15 wins. The 15 victories are the highest total for a first-year staff at DePaul since the 2002-03 season. The Blue Demons closed the regular season by winning three of their final four games that included victories over Georgetown, St. John’s and Marquette.
Individually, Javon Freeman-Liberty was named second team All-BIG EAST and led the league in scoring throughout the season. The Chicago native was a three-time BIG EAST Player of the Week and picked up the conference’s Weekly Honor Roll recognition three other times. Yor Anei (49 blocked shots) and Nick Ongenda (52 blocked shots) became the first duo in program history to each record at least 40 blocked shots in a season.
Following the first season in Lincoln Park, Thomas was selected to attend the 2022 TopConnect Basketball Symposium in Las Vegas. TopConnect (formerly Villa 7), originated in 2003 by then VCU Athletic Director Dr. Richard Sander, identifies the top assistant basketball coaches in the country and connects them with mid-major athletic directors providing tremendous networking and leadership development opportunities for both parties.
Thomas made the move to Chicago from Richmond where he served as the director of basketball operations prior to being promote to assistant coach for his last two seasons with the Spiders. Thomas and the Spiders posted a 14-9 record during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. Richmond advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT despite playing the tournament without its top two scorers, who were sidelined by injuries. Propelled into the Top 25 by a win at Rupp Arena over 10th-ranked Kentucky, Richmond was ranked as high as 19th in the AP poll during its non-conference season, the best ranking for the program since 1957.
In Thomas's first season as an assistant in 2019-20, he helped the Spiders engineer one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Division I, as Richmond went 24-7 overall and 14-4 in the Atlantic 10 to finish second in the conference, Richmond's best regular-season result since joining the league in 2001. As an assistant coach at Richmond, he was responsible for recruiting, player development, opponent scouting, and practice management.
Thomas came to Richmond from Virginia Tech where he served as Director of Student-Athlete Development under Buzz Williams. He spent one year in Blacksburg following a two-year stint as a graduate assistant at the University of Oregon with Dana Altman, where he helped the Ducks to the 2013 Sweet 16.
Thomas has worked with US Junior Nationals Inc., one of the nation’s largest grassroots basketball event organizations, and served as a special projects consultant with Nike Global Basketball Sports Marketing.
Away from the court, Thomas serves on the Young Professionals Board of the Virginia Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
He is a 2006 graduate of Rowan University in New Jersey with a degree in advertising and communications and earned a master’s degree from the University of Oregon in educational leadership in 2014. While at Rowan, Thomas played point guard and still holds the program's record for assists in a game of 15.
Thomas and his wife Desiree have two sons, Daniel and Nicholas.
Thomas Career Timeline
2021-Pres.: DePaul Assistant Coach
2019-2021: Richmond Assistant Coach
2015-19: Richmond Director of Basketball Operations
2014:15: Virginia Tech Director of Student-Athlete Development
2012-14: Oregon Graduate Assistant
He helped the Blue Demons to a strong finish to the 2021-22 season that saw 15 wins. The 15 victories are the highest total for a first-year staff at DePaul since the 2002-03 season. The Blue Demons closed the regular season by winning three of their final four games that included victories over Georgetown, St. John’s and Marquette.
Individually, Javon Freeman-Liberty was named second team All-BIG EAST and led the league in scoring throughout the season. The Chicago native was a three-time BIG EAST Player of the Week and picked up the conference’s Weekly Honor Roll recognition three other times. Yor Anei (49 blocked shots) and Nick Ongenda (52 blocked shots) became the first duo in program history to each record at least 40 blocked shots in a season.
Following the first season in Lincoln Park, Thomas was selected to attend the 2022 TopConnect Basketball Symposium in Las Vegas. TopConnect (formerly Villa 7), originated in 2003 by then VCU Athletic Director Dr. Richard Sander, identifies the top assistant basketball coaches in the country and connects them with mid-major athletic directors providing tremendous networking and leadership development opportunities for both parties.
Thomas made the move to Chicago from Richmond where he served as the director of basketball operations prior to being promote to assistant coach for his last two seasons with the Spiders. Thomas and the Spiders posted a 14-9 record during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. Richmond advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT despite playing the tournament without its top two scorers, who were sidelined by injuries. Propelled into the Top 25 by a win at Rupp Arena over 10th-ranked Kentucky, Richmond was ranked as high as 19th in the AP poll during its non-conference season, the best ranking for the program since 1957.
In Thomas's first season as an assistant in 2019-20, he helped the Spiders engineer one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Division I, as Richmond went 24-7 overall and 14-4 in the Atlantic 10 to finish second in the conference, Richmond's best regular-season result since joining the league in 2001. As an assistant coach at Richmond, he was responsible for recruiting, player development, opponent scouting, and practice management.
Thomas came to Richmond from Virginia Tech where he served as Director of Student-Athlete Development under Buzz Williams. He spent one year in Blacksburg following a two-year stint as a graduate assistant at the University of Oregon with Dana Altman, where he helped the Ducks to the 2013 Sweet 16.
Thomas has worked with US Junior Nationals Inc., one of the nation’s largest grassroots basketball event organizations, and served as a special projects consultant with Nike Global Basketball Sports Marketing.
Away from the court, Thomas serves on the Young Professionals Board of the Virginia Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
He is a 2006 graduate of Rowan University in New Jersey with a degree in advertising and communications and earned a master’s degree from the University of Oregon in educational leadership in 2014. While at Rowan, Thomas played point guard and still holds the program's record for assists in a game of 15.
Thomas and his wife Desiree have two sons, Daniel and Nicholas.
Thomas Career Timeline
2021-Pres.: DePaul Assistant Coach
2019-2021: Richmond Assistant Coach
2015-19: Richmond Director of Basketball Operations
2014:15: Virginia Tech Director of Student-Athlete Development
2012-14: Oregon Graduate Assistant
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