UNLV Basketball Star Dedan Thomas Jr. Enters Transfer Portal

UNLV Runnin' Rebels superstar guard Dedan Thomas Jr has opted to explore his options in the transfer portal this offseason. Thomas Jr was the team's leading scorer, distributor, and best player this past season before being forced to miss the final seven games of the season due to a shoulder injury. There is no doubt that his departure would be a brutal loss for the Rebels. If Thomas were to go to a bigger program, he could get a lot more NIL money, and surely the recent publicized financial issues that the UNLV athletics department is having can't be helping anything. 

However, the door is not closed on Thomas Jr remaining with the Rebels. Former UNLV guard, and father of Thomas Jr, Dedan Thomas Sr recently spoke about his son entering the transfer portal. “It’s home, so I wouldn’t quite say the door is closed,” Thomas Sr. said. "It’s a big part of our lives. I would think anybody at their home school with a relationship like he had with the coach would look elsewhere.”

A big piece of this decision could be the firing of Kevin Kruger. As more and more Rebels opt to enter the transfer portal after the decision to fire the head coach, Thomas Jr likely doesn't want to be part of a total rebuild when big programs including Florida in the SEC are already showing strong interest in him. He is a potential superstar even on the D-1 level and it makes sense for him to go somewhere that he can both get paid and compete for a championship.