Thomas to grad transfer to Temple

MIAMI — Down the stretch, there was a different comfort level for Jiselle Thomas. But for an NCAA Division I basketball player who has traveled all over the country, there was also a contrasting, but familiar feeling on March 10. That afternoon, Thomas finished with 34 points and 15 rebounds in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament while playing for NCAA Division I Florida International University in an 85-75 win over Southern Mississippi. "It was exciting, because I knew it wasn't a common performance," Thomas said. "But I was just out there playing. Honestly, it felt like back home." Thomas, a 2017 Norwalk High School graduate, was no stranger to performances like the one for FIU back "home." She scored 2,023 points in her high school career as the only All-Ohio first team selection in program history. She was the Division II All-Ohio Player of the Year and runners-up to the Ms. Basketball award as a senior when she led the Truckers to 21 wins and the lone district championship in program history. Thomas also scored a record 46 points in just 22 minutes of a game at Tiffin Columbian while she was in high school. 'It was really fun," Thomas said of the win over Southern Miss. She was 10-of-19 shooting (3-of-5 from the three-point line) and 11-of-15 at the foul line along with four assists in the victory. "We had lost to them by 16 and I knew we could play better than we did. "So to go out there and play them in the first round, it was a great, collective win." Thomas, who will graduate transfer to Temple University for the 2021-22 season, had a breakout year for the Panthers. Two days before the 34-point performance, Thomas was selected to the C-USA second team after leading FIU in scoring (16.9 points per game). She finished third in the conference for made field goals (179) and fourth in field goal attempts (389), shooting percentage (46.0) and total points (474). In seven of the final 13 games of the season, Thomas scored 20 points or more. "I just got more comfortable as the season went along, mainly more comfortable with the offense," she said. "I wasn't at my best at the beginning of the season, but once I got more comfortable with how I fit in the offense, it became easier for me to play." After finishing with a triple-double in a game for FIU as a redshirt sophomore in 2019-20 — the ninth C-USA player to achieve the feat — Thomas also continued to improve in other areas besides scoring. She averaged 5.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in 28 games. She finished with five games of eight-plus rebounds and six games with five or more assists for FIU. "I started to become a more well-rounded player," Thomas said. "Rebounding, just looking for my teammates — it became less about scoring as I got older and more about everything else. "It's the small things that matter to help win games, and that has something that has developed more over time." After Thomas spent her first season of college (2017-18) at High Point, she sat out the 2018-19 season after transferring to FIU. The year off from game action also allowed her to grow more as a player. "I was able to get in the gym and work on my game every day that year," Thomas said.. "I was still practicing with the team, still getting better every day and watching the games from the bench. It allowed me to see the game from a different perspective. "It was hard though, because I saw places where I could have helped the team," she added. "That part was hard, but I think in the end it was more beneficial overall to work on and develop my game more." Thomas averaged 11.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in her first season at FIU in 2019-20, which included the triple-double of 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals in a Jan. 18, 2020 game against Middle Tennessee. But the Panthers struggled to a 6-23 record. That changed dramatically this past season, with Thomas at the forefront. FIU finished 15-13 overall, punctuated by a last-second win in the Women's Basketball Invitational Consolation title game against Manhattan. Thomas had 18 points and nine rebounds in the 59-58 win in what proved to be her final game for the Panthers. "It's the coaching staff," Thomas said of the turnaround. "Coach (Jesyka) Burks-Wiley really changed the culture around — big changes that pushed everyone to want to be better. From the beginning, we knew we were going to do something special right when she arrived. That kind of improvement also reminded Thomas of being back home. The Truckers program struggled for many years prior to Thomas and her teammates taking the program to its best stretch in program history. "To be a part of a turnaround is really cool," Thomas said. "In high school, you knew it was special when it happened. But to actually be here when FIU was at its worst, and then to be a part of this past season was just special. We had so many that doubted us and how far we could make it, and we proved a lot of them wrong." But up next is the switch to Temple and the American Athletic Conference. The Owls were 11-7 in AAC play and 11-11 overall this past season, but programs such as South Florida (19-4), Central Florida (16-5), Houston (17-8) and Tulane (18-9) were stout competition in front of them. Thomas, who graduated in December with a degree in communications, will still have two years of eligibility left as a player. She plans to pursue her Bachelor of Science in Nursing while her basketball career concludes. "I decided that for my final two years (of eligibility) that I would like to play them out in a new environment," Thomas said. "I loved my time at FIU, especially this last year, but I felt at though it was my time to move on to something new. "Temple was my choice not only because of the beautiful campus, but also because of all the wonderful things the university has to offer, along with the amazing facilities, players and coaching staff. "After talking to the players and coaching staff, I knew this would be the right choice and the perfect environment I was looking for."