Quintrell Thomas rolls with changes for Rebels

The 6-foot-8-inch, 245-pound forward transferred from Kansas with plans of becoming a dominant big man in the Mountain West.

“I had a lot of expectations,” he said. “Things happen. I’ve had big moments, and I haven’t, so it’s like life, up and down.”

In the classroom, Thomas has achieved everything he imagined. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from UNLV in May and is working toward a second degree in business. Eventually, he expects to follow through on his plan to be a pharmaceutical sales rep.

The goals he set for his college basketball career were greater than being a part-time starter over three seasons for the Rebels. But he’s not about to walk away disappointed.

Thomas will be honored with seniors Justin Hawkins and Anthony Marshall before UNLV (23-7, 10-5 Mountain West) faces Fresno State (10-18, 4-11) in the teams’ regular-season finale at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center. All three seniors will be in the starting lineup.

Hawkins and Marshall were recruited out of high school by former Rebels coach Lon Kruger, who also lured Thomas as a high-profile transfer in the summer of 2009.

After a redshirt year, Thomas started 26 of 33 games and averaged 6.7 points and 5.2 rebounds as a sophomore. His biggest moment came in a 19-point, 13-rebound performance in a win at New Mexico in 2011. Kruger left for Oklahoma after that season, and things changed for Thomas. His playing time has decreased the past two years under coach Dave Rice, who added talent to the roster and brought in more competition for Thomas.

“Q has been extremely mature the past two seasons,” Rice said. “There’s no doubt he, like a lot of guys, would like to be playing more minutes, and yet his attitude has been terrific.”

Thomas’ finest moment this season came Dec. 9, when he grabbed Marshall’s errant jumper and dropped it in with 1.2 seconds left to lift the Rebels to their most impressive nonconference road victory, 76-75 over California. It was the only game-winning shot of his college career.

“He never quit on the play,” Rice said.

Last summer, when Thomas had the option as a graduate to transfer to another Division I school and play immediately, he had no plans to leave UNLV, even before a talk with Rice about his future.

“I wanted to make sure he knew that I wanted him back,” Rice said. “He very quickly said he wanted to be here. He has been a big part of what we’ve done.”

Thomas, a physical post defender and rebounder, has started nine of his 28 games this season, averaging 3.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 12.2 minutes. Most of his limited time has been spent backing up sophomore center Khem Birch and freshman forward Anthony Bennett.

“There’s no doubt that Quintrell will play professional basketball and probably play for a long time,” Rice said. “He’s a big, strong guy who’s durable. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that he fits the bill of a guy who can play overseas for a lot of years.”

Thomas, from Newark, N.J., said his dad, mom and a brother will join him at the Thomas & Mack for Senior Day, and he won’t be thinking about regrets.

“It helped me get better, just being here and practicing against really good competition,” Thomas said. “We’re winning, so I’m happy about that, and I’ll be able to extend my career after college. I did get a good experience out of it.”

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.