Montini Catholic will be honoring the legacy of former Head Varsity Basketball Coach Daryl Thomas when they host a special Broncos vs (St. Joseph) Chargers Memorial Game on Friday, December 14th.
It was with a heavy heart that Montini Catholic announced the passing of Thomas earlier this year on March 28th from a massive heart attack suffered at his home. The Lasallian high school celebrated his life and legacy on Friday, April 6, 2018 during a Mass with alumni, friends and Coach Thomas' family.
"Coach Daryl was a loving and caring husband, father and son, a dedicated and energetic teacher and coach and a positive, energetic and thoughtful man," said President Jim Segredo. "He was a great role model not only to Montini students and his players but he was a great role model to all of us. Although he was only with us at Montini Catholic for three years, he certainly made a positive impact on our school. His infectious laugh, his positive and caring attitude and his dedication and hard work as our Head Boys Basketball Coach will continue to live on and be remembered."
"Both schools will be remembering Coach Thomas during this special evening," announced Montini Athletic Director, Tom Lentine. Both will wear special shooting shirts and representatives from Montini and St. Joseph's will sing the National Anthem together." Lentine added that, "All of the money raised will go toward planting a tree in Daryl's honor on Montini's campus and in setting up a Daryl Thomas Scholarship Fund."
Upon being selected to coach at Montini Catholic, Thomas was the Manager of Player Development and Lead Basketball Instructor at the Chicago Bulls/White Sox Academy in Lisle, Illinois. He was also an Assistant Varsity and Head Sophomore Boys Basketball Coach for nine years at St. Joseph's High School in Westchester where he worked with his former high school coach, Hall of Famer, Gene Pingatore. In five of the nine years, Thomas also served as the Head Boys Sophomore Coach as well as the Assistant Boys Varsity Coach.
As a high school student athlete at St. Joseph's in Westchester, Thomas was named to several All State teams and was named as a McDonald's All American.
Highly recruited by several major college basketball programs, Thomas accepted a Division One basketball scholarship to Indiana University where he played for the legendary Bobby Knight. While at Indiana, Thomas, was selected to the All Big Ten First Team his junior and senior year. He was a starter and co-captain on the 1987 Indiana National Championship Team that defeated Syracuse University 74 to 73. Thomas graduated from Indiana University with degrees in Criminal Justice and Social Studies.
Thomas was selected in the 1987 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. After a short NBA career with the Kings, Thomas played professional basketball oversees on various European Teams for 14 years.
Both schools will be selling special commemorative t-shirts ($10) leading up to the game. "Anyone wearing the shirt on the 14th will get in for free," said Lentine.