USD Men's Basketball 2003-2004 West Coast Conference

POINT GUARDS JAMEER NELSON AND CHRIS THOMAS DECIDED TO PUT NBA LIFE ON HOLD AND STAY IN SCHOOL, AND BOTH ARE BENEFITING FROM IT STICHING RRDUND W hen it was all over, and the friends, family members and folks on the street had finally run out of opinions-more likely, just ran out oftime– Jameer Nelson and Chris Thomas felt the same way. Peaceful. Confident. Relaxed.

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Their decisions to remain in school for another year may have derailed their NBA dreams for another 12 months, but neither man was disappointed with his

choice. Like the great collegiate point guards that they are, Nelson and Thomas each surveyed the situation, considered the options and made the smart play. Each might have found a spot in the first round of apoint-guard heavy draft and reaped the cash-heavy dividends of such good fortune. But like the half court alley-oop lob that can end in spectacular, rim-rat– tling fashion- or an ugly turnover-there was some risk involved. Quite a bit of risk, in fact. Had either failed to find ahome among the first 29 draftees, he would have faced the uncertainty of a roster fight and a potential trip to Europe-or worse. Nelson and Thomas assessed the situation. They considered the options. They decided. "Once I made the decision, ahuge weight was lifted off my shoulders,"

says Thomas, a Notre Dame junior. "I was so torn between going into something that would influence the rest of my life and going back to school and trying all over again. At first, I thought there would be some tension going back, but when I stepped back onto campus, people were happy to see me." Nelson has received the same warm welcome at Saint Joseph's, where he will attempt to finish his career as the school's all-time leading scorer and assist man. True to his team-first, generous nature, Nelson is also aiming to become the Hawk with the most career wins.That, as much as anything else, made returning to school an attractive choice. "I still have goals to accomplish for my team," Nelson says. "I wantto leave school as one of the best, but I also want to have the most wins in Atlantic-10 play and help Saint Joe's make some noise in the NCAA Tournament." Nelson began his NBA experiment with atrip to the tattoo parlor. There, he adorned his upper back with the message, "All eyes on me." It was something of a confusing statement by Nelson,who had spent his first three years on Hawk Hill as the consummate team player. CONTINUED BY MICHAEL BRADLEY

Chris Thomas· decision to return to South Bend puts the Irish in serious contention for the school's first Big East championship this season.

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COLLEGE HOOPS ILLUSTRATED