An Unlikely Hero Returns For Tauihi ‘24
By Justin Nelson
Photo credit: Gameface NZ
The Northern Kāhu will soon hold their media day ahead of the third instalment of New Zealand’s G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi pro women’s basketball competition and if the assembled Kahu players are asked who their quietest teammate is, there is a high probability returning American forward IImar’I Thomas rates highly.
The unlikely hero is unassuming and very much comes across as an introvert, preferring to let her talent and skills do the talking. And boy oh boy are those skills loud, real loud.
The Kāhu enter season 2024 as the title holders, sweeping through 2023 in style to overturn their 2022 grand final demise to take down their rivals Tokomanawa Queens the second time around, winning the big dance 98-72.
That dance saw Thomas put on her best dancing shoes and burn the floor, scorching it with a groove that wowed the fans and helped deliver her team its first trophy for the cabinet.
Thomas probably doesn’t like being tagged a ‘hero’ or a ‘star’, her humbleness is ever-present, but a hero and star she is to the Kāhu and the team’s fans.
For Thomas, a 178-centimetre forward, or 5-foot-10-inches in the old, her 31-point haul in the grand final cemented an individual season to remember. While she fell short to Ashten Prechtel for season MVP, a spot in the All-Star Five was a given with season averages of 26.5 points at 60.7%, 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
But for all the headlining performances under the bright lights, in many ways the globally travelled pro is reclusive. One of her teammates once told me IImar’I wasn’t one for social media and can be hard to track down at the best of times.
A glittering NCAA collegiate career took the quiet Californian to Cincinnati for four years with the Bearcats where she dominated, before a chance to return to her home state and don the UCLA Bruins singlet was too good to refuse. Though home is a little further north in Oakland, nobody can deny the attraction of UCLA as a sports powerhouse.
In her first year with the Bearcats she started in just one of 32 games, but the signs were there. Take a look at her next four years and you can quickly see the importance Thomas brought to those teams, starting 107 of her next 122 games.
Thomas’ fourth year in Cincinnati yielded averages of 23.7 points and 7.5 rebounds. Absolute star material. While at the Bearcats she won first-team conference honours three times.
All up, five college years delivered 154 games and 2,411 points, not to mention the 1,056 rebounds, 312 assists, 150 blocks and 108 steals. By any assessment, those are huge numbers and speak volumes to how and why she has gone on to enjoy strong years as a professional in Europe and New Zealand.
And let’s not miss the fact those 2,411 points came at a shooting average of 57.3 per cent!
The ‘Thomas Effect’ in Tauihi ’23 was enormous. While opposition teams did all they could to slow powerhouse Kiwi Penina Davidson, it was Thomas who was cleaning up with five double-doubles, and four games scoring 30-plus points. While at first you might be mistaken for thinking Thomas was sneaking under the radar with the likes of Davidson, Krystal Leger-Walker and Tera Reed taking the spotlight, it wasn’t long before the bright lights were rightfully centred on her.
Such was her form once she had settled into her new digs, Thomas didn’t dip below 25 points in a 10-game run through to (and including) the Grand Final.
In four games against her Grand Final opponents, the Tokomanawa Queens, Thomas dropped 34, 25, 28 and 31 points respectively. In other words, school was in session and she was giving lessons.
Bringing Thomas back for another New Zealand adventure was a no-brainer for the Kāhu. It was a signature of the highest priority, and they got it.
And Thomas will have plenty of familiar faces lined up to welcome her on her second trip through the round-a-bout, including championship coach Jody Cameron and teammates Leger-Walker and Davidson, amongst others. Perhaps this time Thomas will also get to play more basketball alongside Tahlia Tupaea, an opportunity that was missed last season after Tupaea exited in the early weeks of the '24 campaign with a shoulder injury.
As for the other four teams and how they will be feeling about the return of IImar’I Thomas? Make no mistake, they will be on edge, and the review of hours of footage of season 2023 will already be well advanced.
Thomas isn’t one to gloat, she let’s her game do the talking. In many ways Iimar’I Thomas is the definition of an unlikely hero, but she’s a hero all the same … and a highly respected one at that.
Welcome back IImar’I, Tauihi is all the better for you being here.
