David Thomas - Men's Basketball Coach - Michigan State University Athletics

David Thomas

Title:
Director of Basketball Operations
Email:
msuhoops@ath.msu.edu
Phone:
355-1643

David Thomas, who was a member of the 2000 Spartan men’s basketball national championship team, will be starting his sixth season as director of basketball operations after spending the 2014-15 season with the Michigan State women’s basketball team in a similar position.

During the summer of 2018, Thomas was among a group of administrators selected to the Teamworks Basketball Leadership Committee, an invite-only summit that focused on empowering student-athletes and creating a holistic approach to player management.

Thomas has been a staple of the Greater Lansing community since finishing his professional basketball career in 2009. Prior to returning to MSU, he spent two years working for Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, most recently as the Business Services Assistant Manager. Prior to that, Thomas was the owner and operator of Evergreen Car Wash & Detail in Lansing for four years. During that time, he also spent time as the host of the Spartan Fastbreak show on WLNS TV from 2010-12.

Since 2002, Thomas founded, coordinated and managed the daily operations of the David Thomas Basketball Clinic. The camp, which reached over 300 athletes per year, was for both boys and girls ages 6-18. Thomas was also a board member of many local organizations, including the East Lansing Basketball Club, the Lauren Aitch Cancer Research Foundation, the Learn Live Lead Entrepreneurial Academy and the MSU Varsity S Club.

Thomas spent nine seasons playing professionally in Australia, for the Melbourne Tigers (2001-08) and the Cairns Taipans (2008-09). While with Melbourne, the team won the 2005-06 and 2007-08 national championships. In addition, Thomas was a member of the Canadian National teams from 2000-08, including representing his home country at the 2002 World Championships.

A versatile 6-7 guard/forward, Thomas played four seasons for MSU (1996-98, 99-01), highlighted by the 2000 National Championship, four Big Ten championships and three Final Fours. During his junior season, Thomas was fourth on the team in assists and started the first 11 games of the season at point guard while Mateen Cleaves recovered from injury. In his Spartan career, Thomas averaged 3.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 114 career games, including 46 starts.

Thomas graduated from MSU in 2001 with a degree in advertising. He lives in East Lansing with his wife Toni, also a Michigan State graduate, and their three children, Kingston, Kennedy and Kobi.