Clarence Thomas Looks Back on Washburn Career

Clarence Thomas, a 6-foot-2 senior guard from Minneapolis Washburn who helped lead the Millers to a 21-6 mark this season, finished his high school career this weekend in the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Series.

Thomas averaged 17.6 points per game this season. He scored in double figures in 26 of his 27 games. As a junior, he averaged 14.0 points per game as the Millers finished 11-14. Thomas came off the bench as a sophomore for the Class AAA state champion Millers, who finished 26-5.

Thomas talked to Southwest Minneapolis Patch about his senior season and his search for a place to start his college career.

Southwest Minneapolis Patch: What stands out as the highlights to your career at Washburn?

Clarence Thomas: I really love the game. Perk [Washburn head coach Reggie Perkins] was a good coach. He taught me everything I needed to know. We really had a good season this year. I don’t regret anything we did.

Southwest Minneapolis Patch: Have you thought much about where you are going to play next year?

Thomas: I am looking at Fergus Falls and Illinois Central. I am supposed to be visiting Fergus Falls next weekend, so we’ll see how that turns out. I am still trying to set up a visit to Illinois Central.

Southwest Minneapolis Patch: What types of things are you trying to work on now that the season is over to improve yourself as a player?

Thomas: I am just trying to stay in shape with some drills with a couple of players that I worked out with.

Southwest Minneapolis Patch: You had some big wins this season, especially beating the defending Class AAA state champion St. Paul Johnson in the Twin Cities championship game.

Thomas: That was really big for us because no one expected us to win because we were the underdogs and they were the number one team in 3A class. Perk just told us to go out there and play hard and have fun, which we did and we got the W.

Southwest Minneapolis Patch: Have you thought much about what you would like to major in at college?

Thomas: Probably, law enforcement. Perks really got me interested in it. He talked to be about it and really intrigued me. I was going to do business.

Southwest Minneapolis Patch: You got the chance to play with and against a lot of players that you played against in high school and AAU this weekend. How was this experience?

Thomas: It was great. Everybody was having fun. It was a lot of fun out here.