Maleek Thomas is one of the hottest rising seniors in high school basketball, and the Pittsburgh (PA) native has recently made a lot of news. The 6-3 combo guard, a consensus five-star recruit, committed to Atlanta-based Overtime Elite earlier this week for his final year of prep ball. He had been playing for Lincoln Park Performing Arts High School in Midland (PA).
Thomas had an excellent EYBL season and was one of the top performers at the NBPA Top 100 camp this week. He turned in a 33-point, 1o-assist, and 10-rebound triple-double performance on Tuesday. Several top coaches, including UConn’s Dan Hurley, witnessed his performance.
5-Star Prospect, One Of The Hottest Names In Basketball Recruiting, Has Upcoming Visits With Two Big Time Programs
Thomas averaged 22.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.8 steals. He finished fourth in points and ninth in steals during the camp.
“For starters, with Thomas, you are never going to have to worry about him competing,” Jaime Shaw of On3 said about Thomas. “Thomas is vocal, and he goes all out from start to finish. He is active on defense, and he applies pressure on offense.”
“Thomas showed the most when he played on the ball. The Five-Star Plus+ guard showed comfort as a primary initiator. He built a lot of his reputation as an electric scorer, and he still has that in his bag. He can create opportunities in the half-court for himself to get a clean look on most possessions. But it was the passing reads and delivery that took his game to a new level. He was good in the pick-and-roll, and he shined in delivering passes and getting teammates open.”
The NBPA Top 100 camp, which concluded on Wednesday with five-star 2025 prospect Chris Cenac earning MVP honors, is one of the most highly touted and renowned camps for high school prospects. It has existed since 1994.
Thomas is a top-10 recruit in the class of 2025 by all primary recruiting services. Rivals ranks him as the highest among all scouting services as the No. 5 prospect in the country. On3 and ESPN rate him the seventh-best prospect, while 247Sports ranks him at No.9.
Thomas holds 26 scholarship offers, and his recruitment appears open. Eight schools seem to have a legitimate shot at obtaining his services. According to Mike White of the Pittsburg Post Gazette, he has taken official visits to Pitt, Connecticut, Arkansas, Indiana, and Auburn.
White added that Thomas will be visiting Connecticut (June 19-21) and Arkansas (July 25-27).
Why Did Thomas Decide to Attend Overtime Elite
Thomas is one of the most decorated players to play high school basketball in Pennsylvania in years. He led Lincoln Park to two straight WPIAL and PIAA 4A state crowns.
Thomas averaged 22.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 3.2 steals and shot 57% from the field this past high school season. Overall, he scored 1, 750 points in his three seasons at the charter school,
Thomas spoke to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on June 11 about why he decided to sign with OTE.
“I did everything I needed to do where I’m from,”We won back-to-back state championships. Now it’s time to be seen by NBA personnel, GMs, scouts, the people that you need to be in front of. At OTE they get your name out. Everything they do goes around the world. I want to be broadcasted more.”
“Being a pro constantly is something I want to do,” Thomas added. “Getting in the weight room and going against top players daily with a fast-paced style of play will help me develop a winning mentality against the best. Everything I’m doing now will be turned up times 10. No one in the world will stop me.”
More Recruiting Info
Thomas is an elite scorer, but he separates himself from other prospects on the defensive end. Here is a scouting report that Thomas gave to on3’s Jaime Shaw.
“On my scouting report, I think they’re going to say, ‘He can make plays, can get teammates open. They’re never going to put an underrated defender on a scouting report, but I think I’m very underrated as a defender. I’m in the passing lanes, on ball, off ball, and always talking. I feel like I got everything to be an all-around player.”
Thomas doesn’t have a definitive answer for when he will take all his official visits, though he seems confident that he will commit to school by the end of the year. Thomas said that he plans on taking a visit to Kansas and Miami (FL) at some point. He also added that Tennessee and Kansas State are in the mix.
“I don’t have a time frame of when I want to take all my visits,” Thomas told Shaw. “I’ll probably commit sometime around the early signing period in November. Maybe a little after.
“I’m going to be looking for a genuine coaching staff. A school that is in a great area. I want to be comfortable on the court, so I’ll be looking at the system and the program. Not only do I want to have great players around me, but I want to have winning players around me. We are not going to b.s. in practice, no losers. I’m a winning player, and I want winning players around me.”
What Thomas Says About The Teams Who Are Recruiting Him
Auburn Tigers
“I never really heard much of them growing up unless they had a big player, but they’re really a family down there. The players, the staff, the fans, everyone is just one. I never knew that. When I went down there, everything was just ‘Auburn basketball, Auburn basketball.’ And they’re known for football, so to go down there and see so much Auburn basketball was just intriguing.”
Pittsburgh Panthers
It’s where I’m from, and there has never been any down in our relationship. They make sure they do everything they can to reciprocate the energy they know I have for the city of Pittsburgh. They have always tried to do everything they can to show love, even knowing that I’m being pretty highly recruited.
“I think I fit in great with what Coach (Jeff) Capel has going there and how they play. Their freshmen guards this year had a very successful season: Jaland Lowe and Bub (Carrington). Bub entered the draft. But every year, their guards have excelled and went somewhere further than college basketball.”
Kentucky Wildcats
“My visit was when Coach Cal was there. The new staff has briefly reached out, but they’re not really involved, we’re not really talking like that.”
Arkansas Razorbacks
“When I went on my visit to Kentucky, I got to be around Coach Cal a lot. I had seen him thirty or so times before my visit, but going up to the school and seeing what he does with them in practice and how seriously he takes every single thing, it’s real. Like if I played for him, I’m in for a lot. He is going to prepare his guys to be professionals, and it won’t be easy. That is what I loved about that visit.
UConn Huskies
“Winning. It’s their winning mentality. I mean, everything they do is win. They won back-to-back. They do everything to a crisp. Like when I’m watching practices, he doesn’t let his guys b.s. in practice because it all translating. Coach (Dan) Hurley told me that practices are harder than games for a reason because when you get to the game, it’s easy. I’ve never had a college coach tell me before that their practices are harder than they are going to play in the games. So, right there, it sets the tone.
“UConn recruits very few players for the right reasons. The guys they know can get it done, and that makes the bond stronger because I know that they are not out there recruiting everybody. They turned non-scorers into very dominant players. I can already score at a high level, now imagine what I can do if I made it easier for myself like running off downscreens and the little things. So, I just feel like that would take me to a very professional level, which I feel like I’m already building into.
“I talk to Coach Hurley a few times a week. And it is always asking me what I’m doing for my game. It’s genuine with him, It’s always checking on me before basketball, but he is so serious about basketball we always talk about that, too.”
Miami Hurricanes
“The area is sticking out. Wherever I go, I’m going to have to be comfortable in the area. I’m going to potentially – even though I don’t want to be – be there for four years. So, I have to be comfortable where I’m living, and I feel like it would be easy to get comfortable in Miami. But then I look into the basketball programs and see what their guards have done. They play through their guards. I feel like I would excel there.”
Kansas State Wildcats
“They have professional coaches there. They’ve already seen every type of player and they have gotten unknown and ranked players to the NBA. Just imagine what they could do with a highly-ranked player who wants to go somewhere and shoot for beyond the stars.”
Kansas Jayhawks
“They always have so many televised games. It’s so much with Kansas; theschool’s background and history, the prost they continue to put out, the coaches, the practices. Just everything about them. Without even being there, knowing all about the school, and being comfortable with what they have. And I mostly talk with Coach (Norm) Roberts, I mean, I talk with Coach (Bill) Self here and there, but if you can feel so comfortable with a school by only really having one recruiter, you know something is right about that situation.”
Tennessee Volunteers
“Mainly with Tennesse, I’m liking the play style. I like the area and the city also, but it’s mainly the play style with them. Coach (Rod) Clark, that is my guy. He is always letting me know that they are still there.
Who Is Thought To Be The Favorite
Joe Tipton of On3 watched Thomas at the NBPA Top 100 camp. Afterward, Tipton gave his opinion on Thomas’ recruitment.
My gut tells me that the Huskies are positioning themselves well here. UConn is rolling right now with Hurley deciding to return to Storrs over the LA Lakers in an attempt to 3-peat.
Pitt and Auburn are two schools that have both laid a strong foundation. I think Arkansas and [John] Calipari are real threats too.
I would continue to monitor this recruitment closely.”
