De Smet Players Headed to the Valley

Boyd and Thomas Heading to the Valley

(St. Louis, MO) – Recently two St. Louis area high school basketball players from the same high school signed with two different Missouri Valley Conference teams. Their high school coach is a Missouri Valley Conference hall-of-famer, but they didn’t end up at HIS former school. Jordan Boyd and Ian Thomas are two De Smet players headed to the Valley.

We went to De Smet Jesuit high school to get to know Boyd, Thomas and to see our old friend, Southern Illinois’ Kent Williams.

Coach Williams’ teams have won three straight Metro Catholic Conference titles, including a state championship in 2024. The MCC is arguably the best hoops league in the St. Louis area.

Jordan Boyd is heading to Northern Iowa to play for the Panthers and head coach Ben Jacobson and Ian Thomas is on his way to Terre Haute, Indiana to play with the Indiana State Sycamores and head coach Matthew Graves. Boyd is a 6’4, double-digit-scoring wing ranked twelfth among Missouri seniors.

Thomas is a 6’3 point guard who has scored nearly 600 points, handed out over 200 assists and nabbed over 250 rebounds. Prephoops,com calls Thomas the Show Me State’s tenth best player.

Headed to the Valley

While Williams is one of SIU’s all-time greats, he didn’t push Saluki basketball on his players. He’s still a Saluki for life, but wanted to help his players figure out what is best for them. Williams (.709 winning percentage) says he has great relationships throughout the Valley.

He’s known Indiana State’s Graves for over twenty years.

Thomas and Boyd have loved playing for Kent Williams. He pushes his players on and off the court. The players say he helps them personally and in their basketball development. These three-star recruits have each enjoyed a low-key recruiting process and are glad where they’ve landed.

Why did Jordan Boyd pick UNI and Ian Thomas select the Sycamores. Boyd noticed Jacobson’s humility and Thomas could feel the culture and intensity of the Terre Haute program.

How Will they Fit? 

Since Williams is so familiar with the Missouri Valley Conference, he knows what it takes to be successful. After eleven years coaching at the collegiate level and now eight at De Smet, he has a firm feel on what works. He feels like Boyd and Thomas can contribute quickly.

Williams trains all of his players to be ‘super-star utility’ players. He wants them to do ‘the little things’ that contribute to winning.

I asked the two-time, all-Valley guard to describe the playing abilities of these two headed to the Valley. While admitting both players can score in multiple ways, he insists they bring more to the table than just points on the scoreboard.

Thomas says he wants to be a player like the NBA’s Chris Paul who was continually improving and expanding his game. Boyd has watched a lot of Devin Booker’s plays, to learn how to improve his mid-range game.

These two, ‘yes-sir and no-sir’ gentlemen have the drive, size and respect for the game that will take them a long way in as they are headed to the Valley. UNI’s Ben Jacobson tells me Boyd is a ‘tremendous young guy’ and Graves says of Thomas, ‘we are really excited about his future with us’.

Head to YouTube to watch our entire interview with Jordan Boyd, Ian Thomas and Kent Williams.

Do Good

 

Editor: Cover photo from Ian’s X profile.