Former Niagara University standout Noah Thomasson said he went into this weekend’s official visit to Georgia with a completely open mind. He left his almost two-day visit with a lot more to think about.
“I won’t lie. I said, 'OK, it’s Georgia, let’s see what they have to say,'” Thomasson said in a telephone interview with UGASports. “Obviously, I was interested enough to visit. But after I got there, you could almost feel it. It was something me and my mother talked about when we got in the car to head to the airport. They’re making the process tough.”
A quick look at Thomasson’s basketball resume and it’s easy to see why head coach Mike White and his staff are courting the 6-foot-3 shooting guard, one of the top scoring guards currently in the NCAA transfer portal.
Last year, Thomasson averaged 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game for the Purple Eagles.
The leading scorer last year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Thomasson placed his name into consideration for the NBA Draft process while keeping his college eligibility. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
In his conversation with UGASports, spending one more season in college seemed to be more on his mind.
Thomasson has already taken a visit to San Francisco and said he will take a visit today to St. John’s. He plans to visit Pittsburgh and one other school before announcing his decision sometime in mid-May. He’ll graduate from Niagara on May 13th.
White and his staff certainly appear to have rolled out the red carpet for Thomasson, originally from Houston, and whose father lives in Atlanta. His mom also accompanied him on his visit to Athens.
“Just the Southern hospitality,” said Thomasson, when asked what stood out. “I’m from Texas, so that was something that surprised me a little bit because I had kind of forgotten, but it reminded me of home a little bit. The coaching staff seems like it’s one big family, and that’s what I’m all about: family.”
Thomasson and his parents received an in-depth look at what Georgia is all about.
“Campus is great. It’s not too big, not too small, and a lot of great resources there, too, not just on the basketball side,” he said. “The academics were something that I was very impressed with, too, the branding of the G is impressive.”
The Bulldogs could have one advantage with Thomasson in their hopes to bring him to Athens.
One of his longtime friends is none other than current Bulldog guard Justin Hill, who also calls Houston home.
“I’ve been knowing him since we were eight years old,” Thomasson said. “We’re literally from the same area in Houston, literally 10-15 minutes away. We’re both from the Richmond (Houston) area, and played AAU together in seventh grade.”
Thomasson said the two talked a lot while Hill served as his tour guide around campus and downtown.
“It’s a cool little town,” Thomasson said. “The people there, you can tell they really care about Georgia.”
Although other SEC schools have reached out, Thomasson said White and the Bulldogs have been the most aggressive.
“You can feel they’re trying to get to the tournament, which is something Georgia hasn’t done in a long time. The program is dying to get back to the level they think it should be, and I think they have a chance to do so,” Thomasson said. “They’ve got a couple of commits, and obviously are recruiting me, so they have a plan, and that’s what it is all about.”
