BGSU men’s basketball senior guard Trey Thomas reached a career milestone and added to his collegiate legacy by reaching 1,000 career points against Buffalo at the Stroh Center on Jan. 14.

While Thomas never set a major goal to reach 1,000 points, it is an accomplishment he is proud of.

“I honestly didn’t think much about it until one of my teammates brought it up to me. When I realized I was that close, it felt really good to get over that mark,” Thomas said. “It felt good, especially because I was able to bring my dad there. He was able to see that, and he took a whole lot of videos, a whole lot of pictures and showed people back home. So, just having it in front of my family and my friends, it felt really good, for sure.”

The Toronto, Ontario, native began his career at Vanderbilt, where he played 90 games, starting 17, across three seasons.

Thomas averaged 5.9 points per game while draining 134 3-pointers during his time with the Commodores.

He led Vanderbilt and all Southeastern Conference (SEC) freshmen with 39.8% shooting from deep his first year before finishing second on the team with 50 3-pointers in his finals year with the Black and Gold.

However, after three years in Tennessee, he wanted a change in scenery and decided to join head coach Todd Simon during his first year at Bowling Green.

“Just understanding the play style, the coaches, the environment of Bowling Green; everything just felt like family, felt like home. My family wasn’t really able to come to many games when I was at Vanderbilt, and they’ve been to probably over 10 games with me being here,” Thomas said. “So, just being close to family, a new environment, a new type of play style is what I was looking for, and that’s exactly what I got.”

Over his two seasons at Bowling Green, Thomas has developed a strong connection and relationship with Simon and associate head coach Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr.

“Just having that core and just always depending on them, there’s always there for me, whether I need something basketball or off the court,” Thomas said. “So, just having them there, they’re really like family to me.”

Simon recruited Thomas at Southern Utah, seeing characteristics he believed would make a good collegiate point guard.

Meanwhile, Thomas has developed an especially close relationship with Nairn.

“Coach Tum, he’s really been with me since I got here,” Thomas said. “But now, I kind of look at him as a big brother.”

Nairn has had a successful basketball career, from becoming one of six Michigan State players to be a three-year captain to playing for the Bahamian national team.

He knows firsthand how hard it is to score 1,000 points, only tallying 346 in his four years under head coach Tom Izzo at MSU.

“I think it’s very hard. I didn’t reach it as a player. I mean, I did it in high school but not in college. It’s very hard to do in college,” Nairn said. “So, any time you’re able to eclipse that in college, it’s a testament to your hard work and dedication.”

Thomas’ work ethic is what Nairn has come to admire most.

“I love him, man; I love everything he’s about. The thing I love most about him is his work ethic. I mean, he stays consistently working in the gym, watching film, working on his craft. He’s just a fun guy to be around; his smile brightens up every room he walks in,” Nairn said. “But his work ethic is unmatched, and I’m so happy for him because the work he’s been putting in is finally starting to show in a more consistent way. Couldn’t happen to a better person than Trey.”

However, Thomas’ time in northwest Ohio has not been smooth sailing the entire time.

The guard suffered a rib injury right before the start of last season, leading to him missing the first four games and playing less than 100% last season.

“He had an unbelievable summer and fall last year. He gets hurt two days before the first game, misses significant time; he battles back,” Simon said. “Even though he wasn’t 100%, he gave everything he had last year.”

Thomas continued to face adversity this season as he struggled out of the gates in non-conference play.

After averaging a season-high 11.5 points per game last season, Thomas scored just 7.9 points per game while shooting 33.7% from the field and 31% from deep in 12 non-conference games.

However, Thomas rebounded in a major way during the first four games of conference play. He averaged 18.3 points per game on 47.3% shooting from the floor and 50% on 3-pointers against Akron, Western Michigan, Ball State and Buffalo, scoring a season-high 22 points twice and draining 13 threes.

While he has many good things to say about Thomas, Simon said the word that best describes him is resilient.

“I think Trey’s really resilient. Overcoming what he had to overcome last year, and then his work ethic. Then, he gets in a little bit of a slump here for a stretch of games, and he doesn’t waver. He just keeps working at it, knowing the results will come with the hard work,” Simon said. “So, he’s been pretty resilient. That’s how I’d describe him.”

On top of starting to hit his stride on the court, Thomas’ leadership has also blossomed this season.

“It’s grown, for sure. When I first started, I didn’t really like to talk that much,” Thomas said. ‘I was kind of like that quiet guy on the team; I did what I was told. Now, I have a voice.”

A respected leader during his four years at MSU, Nairn has been able to see Thomas’ leadership skills develop from the perspective of a fellow point guard.

“I think he’s made a tremendous jump just in holding guys accountable, and I think in order to hold other people accountable, you have to be consistent; you can’t be inconsistent but try to hold people accountable; it just doesn’t work. I think because he’s an everyday guy, he’s an everyday guy in practice, he’s an everyday guy with his work ethic when he’s working on his craft, he’s been able to consistently hold guys accountable, he’s using his voice more,” Nairn said. “I think the next thing I like is when we’re on the floor and sometimes we want to call a play from the bench, he’s the one, ‘Coach, I got one already.’ I think you have to be able to do that as a point guard. You have to be an extension of the head coach, and I think Trey’s been doing a tremendous job of that.”

Although he would love to score 20 points every game, all Thomas cares about in the end is winning.

“I just want to win as many games as possible. Whether I score 20, 10, five, I just want to win the game. I’m a competitor; that’s my biggest goal,” Thomas said. “Honestly, I just want to see not just me but everybody else succeed around me. I know that if we win, then everyone’s going to succeed; everyone’s going to get where they want to go.”