Thomas longs to escape shadow of player's death
Former James Monroe star Harvey Thomas struggles to get out of the shadow of a murder he had nothing to do with
Date published: 12/30/2007
By ADAM HIMMELSBACH
On June 19, 2003, Baylor University basketball player Patrick Dennehy was reported missing.
Thirty-seven days later, he was found dead in high weeds near a gravel pit in Waco, Texas.
He had been shot twice in the head.
Over those 37 days, two of Dennehy's former teammates were linked to his disappearance.
One was Carlton Dotson. He is now in prison, serving a 35-year sentence after pleading guilty to the murder.
The other was former James Monroe High School star Harvey Thomas.
The skinny 6-foot-8 forward is now in Yakima, Wash., playing for the Sun Kings of the Continental Basketball Association.
He says he is there instead of in the NBA because he was unfairly connected to Dennehy's death.
He says that is why he has become a basketball nomad, and that is why it is not easy to hope for tomorrow.
"I feel sorry for the people it affected, for Dennehy's parents," said Thomas, 25. "But I had nothing to do with it, and it's something that affected my life, too. It's still affecting my dreams. No one's ever heard my side."
SOMETHING COMFORTABLE
Thomas has not spent more than one year in the same city since he was 16.
After he transferred from James Monroe following his sophomore season in 1999, he attended four more high schools.
He also attended four different colleges.
Over the past three years, he has played for seven different minor league basketball teams.
"It was so hard on him to always have to end up somewhere new," said Harvey's stepmother, Tempia Thomas, who lives in Fredericksburg. "He wanted to find someplace he was comfortable."
Thomas left Georgetown University after his freshman season in 2001-02 because he did not get along with then-head coach Craig Esherick, who through a spokesman declined to comment for this story.
Thomas spent the following summer at Daytona Beach Community College. That June, his father, Harvey Sr., died of cancer.
"He was the only consistent thing in my life," Thomas said.
After spending a year at Northeast Oklahoma A&M Community College, Thomas visited Baylor.
His host was a shy 6-foot-11 center named Patrick Dennehy.
On the first night of Thomas' visit, he and Dennehy had dinner, saw a movie and went to a nightclub. It was fun and ordinary.
Date published: 12/30/2007
Most recent reader comments:
Keep the dream
(posted by
Vern Knights
, Jan. 1, 2008 2:18 pm)
Anthony Mason, John Starks, Mario Ellie, Avery Johnson, etc. These are some of the players who can tell you first hand about the experience of the struggle to get to the league, one cut and one long bus ride at a time. Keep that dream alive as long as you're willing to work hard towards it, and don't let anyone tell you to give up on yourself at the age of 25.
Time Out ??
(posted by
Ranko
, Dec. 31, 2007 4:06 am)
If he can make enough baskets or get the rebounds the NBA might call but he still seems to have a great deal of baggage that might keep his mind off the game. I think he should consider getting his degree which would go a long way towards providing for his family in the long run. Time is running out for him to be a player but plenty of time to be a husband & father.
He better forget....
(posted by
nitro121
, Dec. 30, 2007 2:40 pm)
about the NBA and start calling the Phillipines. It must be his skills....Labron James could have helped bury Denehy and still would have been drafted first. It's about skills...not Baylor. But I hope he does get in the NBA....I like to see locals make it big. I think he's just one step behind on NBA players or he'd be there by now...but then what do I know....I couldn't play a half court game without getting tired these days.
Maybe he needs a new career
(posted by
Minx
, Dec. 30, 2007 12:45 pm)
I'm sorry for what happened at Baylor, but it sounds like Thomas wasn't focused enough for the NBA before that incident, and compounded it by declaring too early for the draft. At 25, perhaps he should be thinking of how he'll support his family if he doesn't get that big break to the NBA.
Average Players find it hard to overcome tough breaks
(posted by
rjbarlow
, Dec. 30, 2007 9:46 am)
Harvey Thomas seems like a good kid trying hard to do the right thing and succeed. But it remains to be seen if he really has the stuff NBA players are made of. I am sure the Baylor issue would be hard to live with, but even without it there is no indication he is NBA material. It seems more likely he is an above-average player who has had some tough breaks, and the tough breaks appear to be holding him back, when in fact it may just be his sub-NBA abilities. If he develops the ability the NBA will call
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