Pro Basketball Player Shows Met Students that Hard Work Pays Off

Pro basketball player Lamonte Thomas met up with a group of students from the Met School's Newport Campus this week.

For the two-time collegiate All-American and NCAA leading scorer, it was a chance to tell his story about never getting a look out of high school. He played for Central, graduated from Met, but never got a scholarship.

He knew he was good and he watched other players catch breaks, but that didn't stop him from putting his head down and working harder.

Thomas went on to Johnson & Wales, where he became an All-American and led all divisions in scoring in his senior year. And today, he enjoys a professional career in Europe where he had led the league in Germany in scoring and was the top guard last season, averaging 25 points a game for Wolfenbuttel.

In one game, he netted a career high 54 points against a tough loss to Schweim.

He's back here in Rhode Island this summer and his plan is to work harder to get to the next level and maybe get a spot in the NBA. 

At the same time, he's hosting an elite training program at the Met School in Providence and other locations throughout the summer.

"Take advantage of these opportunities and think big," he told the students on Tuesday. "Global big. Out of the box big. The opportunity is there. I experienced it first hand and look where I am now."

At the clinics, which have been growing in popularity, Thomas works on skill development, but also to make sure they believe that they can reach their goals through hard work.

As he says again and again, work harder to get better. Every. Single. Day.

Click here to check out Thomas' basketball clinic Facebook page.