Fatherhood motivates Thomas on court, in classroom

MORLEY -- Scott County Central senior Drew Thomas sometimes will peek into the stands at his 11-month-old son, Kobe Thomas, during basketball games.

"I'll be glancing at him on the court a little," Thomas said. "They try to get him to see me. I try to wave at him."

Thomas, a 6-foot guard and four-year starter for the Braves basketball team, has taken on a new role over the past year. He's become a father in addition to being a busy high school student and standout basketball player.

Thomas said being a father has made him more serious about succeeding in both school and basketball so that he can be a positive role model for Kobe. And Drew's parents have stuck by their son, helping him adjust to the challenges of his new role so he can continue to pursue his long-term goal of earning a college basketball scholarship.

Thomas, who has received recruiting interest from schools including Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois University and Three Rivers Community College, will lead the Braves (27-2) against Glasgow (25-5) in a Class 1 semifinal contest at 4:30 p.m. today at Mizzou Arena.

Kobe climbs over his father, Drew, while they play.

The winner plays the victor of the other semifinal game between Newtown-Harris (28-1) and Chadwick (25-4) in the championship game Saturday at 12:20 p.m. at Mizzou Arena.

Scott County is in search of its 13th state title in school history, and first since 1993.

Thomas leads his team in scoring with 25.5 points per game through district play. He is shooting 65 percent from the field and ranks fourth on his team with 5.2 rebounds per game. He is second on his team in assists with 92 and first on his team in made 3-pointers with 25.

"It has motivated me tremendously," Drew said about being a parent. "I want him [Kobe] to be so good in life. And that means I've got to go to college and work hard on the court and off the court with my grades and make sure I get my degree."

Scott County coach Ronnie Cookson has seen Drew mature since Kobe's birth.

Kobe Thomas, 11 months, plays in the sunlight while visiting with his father, Drew Thomas, at his home Tuesday.

"I think Drew has settled down and he knows he'd kind of like to have a future ahead of him," Cookson said. "That's what he wants. And he knows he's got to get it through basketball and through college."

Being a dad

Drew already has introduced Kobe, who started walking about a month ago, to basketball.

"I just give him a ball and let him go," Drew said. "That was the first thing I've done. And you can't take that ball from him. He'll start crying."

Kobe lives with his mother, Brittany Mallory, a Sikeston High School senior who plans to bring Kobe to watch Drew at the state tournament today.

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.comKobe Thomas, 11 months, plays in the sunlight while visiting with his father, Drew Thomas, at his home Tuesday.

"When he [Drew] comes to get him, he'll take him outside and give him a basketball, and they'll just play around with it," Mallory said.

Although Drew has fun with Kobe, he admitted that being a teenage parent is challenging. Kobe was born March 27, 2008, just 13 days after the Braves placed third in last year's state tournament.

"Just like every teenage boy, I was scared," Drew said about being told he was going to be a father. "I mean, I didn't know nothing about no babies. The first thing that 90 percent of teenage boys do is run. And so what I wanted to do is I didn't want to run. I made a mistake and I wanted to step up."

Kobe stays with Drew and Drew's mother, Mary Thomas, most weekends. Drew visits Kobe about three or four times each week after basketball practices, and he helps out with everything from giving Kobe his baths to changing his diapers to helping teach him discipline, when needed.

"To be for real, teenage parents, it's just about sacrifice," Drew said. "Some things you've got to sacrifice, like going out with your friends. Some days you can't do that because it's just about sacrifice. It motivated me to do good because I want my son to be better than me. I want him to look up to me. I don't want him to say, 'I want to look up to Kobe Bryant or something.' I want to be a good father figure for him to look up to me."

Scott County Central senior Drew Thomas averages 25.5 points a game this season.

Drew said that as he watches Kobe grow older, he would like to see his son travel and do as many positive things as possible in life. He already is trying to instill that principle in Kobe by taking him to a different place almost every time he has his son.

"I just like taking him places," Drew said. "I just want him to go places in life. Like when he comes to my house, just take him to a different place up the street or in Sikeston somewhere to a park or something."

Help from home

Drew's parents have been supportive while watching their son become a father.

Drew lives with his mother in Haywood City. The two moved there from St. Louis when Drew was about 5 years old while Drew's parents divorced.

Scott County Central's Drew Thomas reacts to a referee's call during a game earlier this month.

Drew's father, Andrew "Ricky" Thomas, still lives in St. Louis, but maintains a close relationship with Drew. The two see each other frequently and talk almost every day. Andrew actually played on the Scott County basketball team and started on the first Braves team to win a state championship, back in 1976. Andrew scored 31 points in the championship game and earned all-state honors.

Like Drew, his parents experienced the initial shock when learning that their son would be a father.

"It's kind of hard to say," Mary said about first learning Drew was going to be a father. "It disappointed me a lot. But just once after a month or two, I just accepted it."

Both of Drew's parents have stuck by him in his pursuit of a scholarship to play basketball in college.

"They want me to be the best father figure I can be," Thomas said about his parents. "But at the same time, they still want me to work at this basketball thing because they know that I love the game and that this is going to pay for my college. And hopefully [attending college to get a degree] it's going to put clothes on my son's back."

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.comScott County Central's Drew Thomas dunks two points in the first half of a Braves victory over St. Elizabeth at the Class 1 state tournament on March 10 at Central in Park Hills.

Drew does not have a job. Mary said she and Drew discussed it and agreed that he will search for a summer job.

Mallory has been working since Kobe was born and plans to attend cosmetology school after graduating from Sikeston.

Drew said his father did not want him to get a job. Instead, he wanted him to focus on basketball. Drew said that his father has stressed to him that he must be a strong father figure for Kobe, and to do that, he must succeed in school and earn a college degree. Andrew had another reason for not wanting Drew to find a job.

"I was so poor [growing up] I can't remember when I didn't work," Andrew said. "I didn't want him [Drew] to have that. I couldn't go to camps. ... He can do whatever he wants. He can play basketball all summer. But there's going to come a time, and it's coming now, that he's going to have to be a man. ... But yes, I wanted him to be a kid. I didn't get to be a kid, so I wanted my son to be a kid."

Goal of college

Drew has loved basketball from an early age. Andrew remembers noticing Drew being a physical player as a youngster starting out at basketball.

"He saw my picture in the trophy case [at Scott County] and people talking about me and he just got hooked," Andrew said. "He told me at a young age that he was going to top everything I'd ever done. ... He just loves basketball."

Drew said that it was during his eighth-grade year that he started working harder at basketball and getting much better as a player. It also was then that he realized he loved basketball. He said that he remembers getting into trouble for something at school -- he can't remember what -- and was forced to miss a game against Bell City. He recalls going home and crying because he missed the game.

"I just figured that I just loved the game," Drew said. "Somebody that would cry over missing a game, they've got to love it. So after that day I missed that game, I just knew that this ball right here was going to be my destiny."

Mary said that earning a scholarship to play college basketball has been Drew's long-term goal.

"He has always talked about someday going to college," Mary said. "I think he's ready for it. And he's doing really good in basketball right now. He's had quite a few coaches come and see him play. And they've been writing and sending stuff in the mail."

Drew is putting together an exceptional senior year in which he is averaging 6.3 more points per game than he did as a junior.

In December, Drew helped Scott County to its first Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament title since 1990. He was the leading scorer at the four-day event, netting 122 points. That was 46 more points than the second-leading scorer in the tournament.

"I think he could be a pretty good player in college," Cookson said. "I think Drew's the type of kid who wants to work, wants to be good and he's going to continue to work."

Thomas said that he has yet to speak with Dickey Nutt, who was introduced as Southeast's new coach March 12. But Thomas added that Cookson has told that him he knows Nutt well, so Thomas expects to speak with Nutt in the near future.

"Personally, I think regardless of where I go -- if I go to Duke or if I go to Three Rivers -- I'm going to go there and work hard," Drew said. "That's my main thing."

Drew would like to pursue a degree in business administration because he is strong at math and would like to own his own business some day.

Right now though, Drew's main focus is on winning a state title. And with Kobe, who has been at the majority of Drew's games this year, in the stands today and Saturday, Drew has a little extra incentive to win the title.

Drew said Kobe has turned his goal of earning a college basketball scholarship and a college degree into a positive necessity.

"[Going to college] was my main focus before I knew I was going to have a baby," Thomas said. "I was going to go to college and get my degree regardless. But when he came, it motivated me more to get a [degree]. So now I don't have a choice but to get one."