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We conclude our season preview coverage with St. Mary’s JR SF Elijah Thomas. Coach Mark Few deservedly gets the majority of the attention on the West Coast but Randy Bennett is up there as well: 12 straight seasons of 21+ wins, the winningest coach in school history, and 7 NCAA tourneys under his belt. Almost every single player on last year’s roster is back as they try to rebound from last year’s 4-PT loss to Villanova in the NCAA tourney. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Elijah about hailing from the great state of Arizona and facing the mighty Zags. Hope you enjoyed all the previews: on to the regular season!
You grew up in Arizona: what made you choose St. Mary’s? I liked the fact that they had won a lot of games and the coaches gave me the 1-on-1 attention that I needed.
You play for Coach Randy Bennett: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He teaches us to be prepared for everything and to put in the work. This is my 4th year here and I am still learning things from him.
In your last 2 season debuts (a 2017 win over St. Francis PA and a 2018 win over McNeese State) you made a combined 6-7 3-PT shots: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? There is not much to it: get your feet set and have the confidence to make it. It just kind of happens.
You started the 1st 12 games of the season last year: what is the biggest difference between being a starter vs. coming off the bench? I do not think there is a big difference but when you come off the bench you still need to do your job and bring some energy. Even when I am coming off the bench I prepare for every game as if I were a starter.
In the 2019 NCAA tourney you played 3 minutes in a 4-PT loss to Villanova: how close did you come to beating the Wildcats, and what did you learn from that game that will help you this year? The biggest takeaway is experience. We learned that were good enough to make it to that stage.
You have 9 guys on the roster from foreign countries: is it hard to get everyone on the same page? It has been really cool to learn about different cultures so I have definitely enjoyed it.
1 of your new assistant coaches this year is former St. Mary’s star Mickey McConnell: what does he bring to the table? He brings a lot. He was obviously a great player here and knows the game. He has also been through everything that we are going through so he can help us with that.
In your 56 regular season games you have gone 0-3 vs. Gonzaga and 42-11 vs. everyone else: what makes the Zags so good, and how intense is your rivalry with them? I think that it is 1 of the best rivalries on the West Coast. You will get a good game every time you see us play them: it is a lot of fun.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Wisconsin/Cal/ASU/Nevada: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? My mindset is to take it game by game: I do not really like to look past the next team that we are playing.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? The expectation is to come out and play hard each game. We want to play better defense and win a national championship: you gotta go big, right!?