Sam Thomas starts pro career with chance to make Mercury roster

Sam Thomas came to Arizona with no intention of playing basketball professionally. She wanted to play her four years, earn a degree and move on.

Things have changed.

Thomas signed a training camp contract with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in the hours following Monday’s WNBA Draft. Starting Sunday, Thomas will begin competing for a roster spot with the deep, talented team.

“It feels crazy,” Thomas said. “Just to think that two weeks ago, I was a college player. Now, I am a pro and battling for a spot on the team. It’s really insane. The level of how mature everyone is … it’s crazy. You can tell they are the pros of the pros — they take this very seriously.”

It wasn’t until Thomas’ junior season — 2019-20 — that she began to think about playing professionally. To get there, Thomas knew she had to improve some aspects of her game. As a lefty that meant going to her right, being consistent with her shot and keeping up the high-level defense she was known for.

Thomas’ development plan was created by UA coach Adia Barnes and assistant coach Salvo Coppa.

“They just said, ‘OK, we need to be aggressive,’” Thomas said.

Thomas hit the gym, a place that has always been a second home for her. And after her final college season ended with a loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Thomas was back in the weight room and working with Coppa.

She even got one last session in with Coppa on Wednesday, in between packing and driving to Phoenix for camp.

Thomas squeezed every last drop out of her five-year college experience. Earlier this month, she snagged a touchdown catch in the Wildcats’ spring football game and put on a skills camp at Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson — all on the same day. Earlier in the week, Thomas moderated a UA Alumni panel for Wildcat women entrepreneurs.

“I just felt like I had so many things in April that I had to do and then it just all flew by so fast,” Thomas said.

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Thomas said she was nervous leading up to the WNBA draft. Everything was new, and Thomas said she felt rushed to hire an agent right away.

Barnes took over that role, lining up the training camp invites for Thomas after she went unselected in the draft. The two settled on the Mercury, a team that is close to Tucson and includes a few of her fans. Both Phoenix star Diana Taurasi and coach Vanessa Nygaard liked her game.

Thomas also hired an agent, Fabio Jardine of First Pick Basketball Management, who also manages former UA standout Trinity Baptiste.

Thomas began working out with Mercury coaches and other rookies on Thursday. Her first “I am a professional” moment came when Thomas first got Mercury gear.

“Actually going through a workout and sweating in it. That’s what really made it seem real and it’s just so weird, you know, being purple and orange, just different colors than I’m used to,” she said. “It really just made it surreal, like, ‘OK, well, I’m on a new team now.’”

Thomas is learning pretty quickly some of the little differences between being a professional and a college player. One is that she no longer has to remove her earrings for one-on-one workouts. Another one is that she doesn’t have to wear specific matching gear for practice.

“(At UA) it was like, ‘OK, red tops, blue shorts, that’s what you have to wear today,’” Thomas said. “Here, we just get to wear whatever, as long as it’s Mercury gear. It was really nice because I didn’t have to worry about anybody else not matching or sending the colors out to the team of what we’re wearing.”

Thomas said while she’s ready for camp to begin, she knows the task ahead of her is not an easy one. Thomas is trying to earn a spot on a team that was the WNBA runner-up last season.

Thomas is leaning on the advice that Barnes and Coppa gave her: Just be yourself on the court and “talk like you normally do … smile, have fun.”

“Because when I’m having fun, that’s when I’m playing at my best,” Thomas said. “They told me what to expect, ‘Everything is intense. Just go in there and act like you belong.’ Obviously, there’s going to be Diana Taurasi, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Tina Charles — they’re all on the team — but you just have to act like you belong and just try your best and go hard on every drill.”