April 7, 2009

University of Dayton men's basketball coach Brian Gregory has announced that sophomore guard Stephen Thomas is transferring from the University after two seasons as a member of Flyer basketball team.

"Stephen has decided to look for a school where he will have a greater opportunity to play his final two years in college," Gregory said. "I respect his decision and wish him the very best."

Thomas, a 6-foot-1 guard, averaged 2.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 29 games during the 2008-09 season. He scored a season-and-career-high eight points in UD's win over Auburn in the Chicago Invitational Challenge on November 27. He played in 23 games as a freshman, averaging 0.7 points a contest in 2007-08.

"I want to thank Stephen for two great years," Gregory added. "He has really represented our program in a first-class manner as a person, as a student and as a player. He was a big part of our success. We would not have won 27 games this year without Stephen Thomas."

Thomas, a 2007 graduate of Indianapolis Cathedral High School, will complete the spring semester at UD and will have two seasons of collegiate eligibility remaining.

Dayton returns four starters and 10 of its top 11 scorers from last year's 27-8 team that reached the NCAA second round. The Flyer returnees include all four players who earned Atlantic 10 post season honors in 2008-09: Chris Wright, Marcus Johnson, London Warren and Chris Johnson. Wright, who was also First Team NABC All-District, led UD in scoring (13.3) and rebounding (6.6), and set a school single-season record for dunks (54).