The bad news just keeps coming for the Texas Longhorns basketball team. Canadian Kevin Thomas, a 6-7 wing from the same AAU program that produced Cory Joseph, Tristan Thompson, and Myck Kabongo, failed to qualify academically and will attend a junior college this season, according to a Longhorn official Wednesday.
There have been rumors for some time that the athletic forward would not qualify, but that doesn't make the news any less harmful to the team and the outlook for the 2011-12 season. At the moment, it leaves Rick Barnes with only eight scholarship players this season and only three frontcourt players -- seniors Clint Chapman and Alexis Wangmene, and incoming freshman Jonathan Holmes. Five of those eight players will be freshmen.
Texas officials hope that recent commit Jaylen Bond, like Thomas a 6-7 wing, will be released from the letter of intent that he signed to play at Pittsburgh this season. Already enrolled in school for the fall semester, word should come from the Pittsburgh program soon about whether the school will release Bond or if he will be forced to attend a year of prep school or junior college.