From College to the Pros
The Journal of Tyrus Thomas

By Tyrus Thomas

It has been a few weeks since the last time you have heard from me, and
so much has happened since then. We played eight pre-season games to help polish the team before the regular season began. For the most part I thought I did fairly well, but my coaches thought otherwise. The were pleased with my performance as a "ROOKIE", but not as "TYRUS THOMAS". They all show tons of interest in my development as a player.

They are constantly on me to make sure I'm giving it my all. At first I was taking their criticism personal and was feeling as if they were all against me. I then began to observe the way they treated me compared to some of the other players and realized that it was only constructive criticism. Some guys don't even get reactions from the coaches; I would get worried if that was happening to me. We also had our first regular season game against the defending world
champions, the Miami Heat.

It was an unforgettable atmosphere. There were about 20000 people in attendance. The Heat received their championship rings before the game and the fans were excited and pumped up. It reminded me of the Final Four in Indy, except 90% of the fans were against us in Miami. Both the coaches and as well as myself, thought I played well in the season opener. I was more alert, active, focused, and I executed better than I did in the pre-season. I felt good about my performance. This was a night I will never forget.

Not only was it my first NBA game, I was welcomed to the league with a broken nose. in the 4th quarter I was hit in the nose by James Posey, which resulted in a fracture. The doctors popped it back in place to speed up the healing. Luckily it wasn't serious enough for surgery so I should be just fine.

The next time I play I will be wearing a protective mask. Wish me luck.

--tyrus thomas

Contact Tyrus at TThomas@b-now.com