Thomason competes in North-South All-Star Game

BY DANIEL SCHMIDT 

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

LAFAYETTE — When Jayden Thomason stepped onto the court at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex on July 21, the weight of history followed him.

The LaFayette High School senior forward was one of just three Class 1A players in the entire state to be selected to the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s North-South All-Star Basketball Game.

He was also the first Bulldog to appear in the event since legendary multi-sport athlete JaTarvious “Boobee” Whitlow did so in 2016.

After spending last Tuesday night sharing the floor with players from schools several times the size of his own, Thomason looked right at home, finishing the game with two points and two rebounds.

“It feels good,” Thomason said. “Not many people get the opportunity. I’m one of the few in LaFayette history to do it, so it means a lot to me.”

For LHS head boys basketball coach Chase Lewis, the invitation was a well-deserved payoff on a journey that began before Thomason even entered high school.

“I’m extremely proud of him,” Lewis said. “He’s been playing varsity for me since eighth grade. He played some middle school, some JV, but I moved him up in eighth grade and we made that playoff run. He started his freshman year, and he’s going to start all four years of high school.”

Lewis, who has been teaching and coaching for 17 years, said Thomason is only the second player he has ever coached to reach the North-South All-Star Game.

“That’s what I want him to take away from this right here: the honor of being in this game,” Lewis said. “It couldn’t have happened to a better kid in East Alabama.”

Thomason has started on two Final Four teams in the Bulldogs’ black and gold. The goal now is a third, and then to finally bring a state championship back home.

“I’ve been putting in a lot of work this offseason, and I’m hoping to carry it on to next season and make a trip back [to Birmingham],” Thomason said. “Take one step at a time. Playoffs first, Final Four, all of that. Just go through the process.”

The soft-spoken forward has never been the loudest voice in the gym, and Lewis said that is exactly what makes the senior year feel urgent from the sideline.

“This kid has done everything our school has asked him to do, whether it’s football, basketball or track,” said Lewis, who also serves as LHS’s athletic director. “He was a runner-up in the high jump his sophomore year, and regional final MVP [in basketball] this year. He does everything you ask him to do and never complains. So as a coach, it makes me work harder, makes me study film harder and makes me research our new region teams harder, because I don’t want to let him down his senior year. I know he’s going to do what I ask him to do, so I want to make sure I’m ready to lead him the right way.”

Lewis said the value of last Tuesday’s game went beyond the box score.

“It lets him see the speed of the game at an even higher level,” Lewis said. “And he belonged. He came in, got a couple of rebounds and scored a bucket.”

The coach’s pregame text message to his star was short on strategy.

“One of the things I said to him was to have fun,” Lewis said. “This is an honor and is supposed to be a fun experience.”

Football season arrives first for Thomason, who will suit up for the Bulldogs this fall before basketball tips off. He said he plans to make the last lap count.

“I’ve been doing this for five years,” Thomason said. “So, I’ve got to make it count.”