by Alex Schwartz

Within the last hour or so I received word from NIA Prep (NJ) Head Coach Vincent Robinson that Shaq Thomas is transferring to the Newark school which will be in its second year of having a team. Thomas spent his freshman and sophomore years at Paterson Catholic (NJ), which is where he began his junior year, before leaving for Montclair (NJ), where he was ruled ineligible by the NJSIAA. Thomas, the nephew of Tim Thomas, then went out to Mountain State Academy (WV) for the remainder of his junior year, where he decided not to return.
Thomas had told me way back in mid-June at the NBAPA Top 100 Camp—where he finished 20th in scoring at 10.8ppg and was listed amongst Northstar Basketball's top 35 performers in the event recap—that he was considering NIA and also the possibility of reclassifying, which he is indeed doing. Robinson informed me that Thomas, who was ranked #109 in Northstar Basketball's Class of 2010 Terrific 125, will graduate as a part of the class of 2010 at NIA and will then return to the school for a post-grad year, making him a member of the class of 2011. Thomas, a long and athletic 6'6 wing, has a shot to be a top 50 or so player in the class of 2011.
At NIA Prep, Thomas joins a roster that also includes players such as Kelvin Amayo '11, Ramon Johnson '11, Aishon White '10, and Jordan Robinson '10, all of whom are in their first year at the school. Last year the school produced players such as one-time Western Kentucky-commit David Laury and Morehead State-bound Joe Swift '09. Thomas will be the most highly recruited player the school has had in the two years, as he is hearing from programs such as Syracuse, Florida, and West Virginia to name just a few.
Once again, in news being first reported by Northstar Basketball, Shaq Thomas is transferring to NIA Prep and will now be a part of the class of 2011.

Note- photo is from http://scouthoops.scout.com/