SIBLING RIVALRY PART OF D-11 4A BOYS TITLE GAME
Brothers from Bethlehem Catholic, Central Catholic go head-to-head
Tyson Thomas said his brother Julian does a lot of trash talking.
Julian Thomas said it’s the other way around.
“My brother talks a lot of junk,” Julian said. “It’s all him. Not me, not me. It’s all him.”
One thing is for sure. When the District 11 4A boys basketball championship game is over Friday night at Freedom, one of the two brothers will have family bragging rights and a gold medal and the other one will have a reason for redemption.
Tyson Thomas is a freshman on the Central Catholic boys basketball team. Julian is a junior on the Bethlehem Catholic squad.
Sparks always seem to fly when the Vikings and Golden Hawks get together.
When they meet at Freedom High School’s McIntyre Gym it will be the Thomas’ family first encounter on the court this season.
It’s just one of several storylines to follow during local basketball’s championship weekend.
“It’s been interesting all season; it’s a little weird too because I’ve never played against my brother before,” Julian Thomas, a Becahi starter, said. “We’ve only gone against each other in fun stuff. We’ve been teammates before and we were pretty good together, but we’ve never played against each. It’s going to be fun.”
Tyson Thomas, who has gotten significant minutes off the bench for CCHS, said he used to go against Julian
“every single day in the backyard.”
This will be a slightly bigger stage.
“After every game, we talk about how each other did,” Tyson Thomas said. “At the house, he talks about what he did, I talk about what I did. We talk about what we need to do to get better. We were hoping to play each other at some point. We knew we weren't scheduled to play each other in the regular season and we were hoping we could meet in the EPC tournament, but now here it is.”
As the father of the two players, Marlon Thomas can't lose.
As a prominent coach and organizer of the ESYC Elite AAU program, which has won two national championships, Thomas is a fixture at local basketball games and not just the ones involving his sons.
“I'm proud of all our kids, the East Side kids,” Marlon Thomas said. “We've definitely made an impact in our community. It's so gratifying to see how many kids have been affected by what we started over nine years ago.”
Talek Williams, Tyrese Martin, Alex Serrano and Sam Iorio are just a few of the past high school stars who came through the ESYC Elite program.
Several players in action this weekend, players like Nick Filchner, Nate Ellis, A'Quele Adderley, also played for ESYC Elite, but the two guys who make Marlon Thomas the proudest will be in the 4A title game.
“Julian is a player who can play four different positions,” Marlon Thomas said. “He's position-less because he can excel at the point. He has great vision. He can slash at the two-guard or he can take you down in the post and play the three or four position because he rebounds and passes well. He has really worked hard to improve his shot and get it more consistent. To me, he's the true MVP of Becahi's success this season because he's energetic and does everything everybody else doesn't want to do.”
As for Tyson, his father said there's no doubt where he belongs.
“He's a natural, true point guard,” Marlon Thomas said. “His vision is uncanny. You can't rattle him. You can't turn him over. That's how he's been since he's been eight years old and playing up on older teams. When he was in fourth grade, he played up on Julian's sixth-grade team. He was my best point guard and we won the Lehigh Valley middle school league.”
How did the brothers end up at different schools?
“My kids have minds of their own,” Marlon Thomas said. “When Julian was visiting schools, he wanted to take his own path. He followed his heart. He thought he belonged at Bethlehem Catholic.”
As for the younger Thomas, a connection to a coach helped.
“His middle school coach at St. Thomas More was Dave Gehris and they have a great relationship,” Marlon Thomas said. “He's an assistant at Central Catholic. Tyson really likes Coach [Dennis] Csensits and with Dave Gehris also being on the bench, it was a no-brainer for him. He also followed his heart.”
As for the game itself, Marlon Thomas said he will try to sit at midcourt and cheer for both teams
“I just want the utmost success for all of our ESYC Elite kids,” he said. “I want both teams to do well. I want nothing but success for both. Somebody has to win, somebody has to lose. In my eyes, both programs are winners because they have made it to this point.”
Marlon Thomas said there's no doubt both Julian and Tyson will be headed to college.
While Marlon works the kids on the basketball end of things, his wife, Shannon, focuses on the academics.
Both Tyson and Julian are excellent students, which will take them as many places as their basketball prowess.
“They're good kids who work hard for their success, but they will throw jabs at each other this week in a sneaky way,” Marlon Thomas predicted. “It may take one or the other some time to catch those jabs, and then they'll get back at each other. But I give them credit. They said they were going to play each other for the district championship and they did it and I'm proud of them.
“It's going to be a big moment for both of them. It's a great day for Bethlehem Catholic, Central Catholic and the Thomas family. I'm excited.”