When Marist’s Karson Thomas was growing up, he looked forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays.
On those nights, he was able to watch his dad, Kevin, play in a men’s league at Mokena Junior High or the Oaks Fitness Center. Kevin had played for Proviso East, Triton and Robert Morris.
“When I was watching him playing, I fell in love with the game,” Karson said of his dad. “I would watch the game or shoot around or dribble around while I was watching them.
“Those guys he played with were his college teammates and they were pretty huge. But they have always been there to support me or get on me at times and they overall pushed me.”
The junior guard pushed his team into the next round Friday night, scoring 14 points off the bench to lift the host RedHawks to a 74-60 win over Sandburg in the Class 4A Marist Regional championship game in Chicago.
Junior guard TJ Tate celebrated his birthday by leading Marist (31-2) with 20 points and five steals. Marquis Vance totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds. Rokas Zilys scored 11 points, including a huge 3-pointer with 4:25 left in the fourth quarter after Sandburg cut the deficit to nine.
Jonah Johnson paced Sandburg (16-17) with 15 points and five rebounds, while Malachi Perkins, Will Johnson and Daniel Morakinyo added 12 points apiece.
Thomas spent his first two seasons at Lincoln-Way East. At the end of the 2022-23 season, he became just the second freshman in program history to play on varsity after teammate BJ Powell.
But Thomas found a new home at Marist, and even though he has been coming off the bench, he still provides the type of production that a starter provides for the RedHawks.
“I don’t like Karson — I love him,” Marist coach Brian Hynes said, pointing out that Thomas has been the team’s leading scorer the last couple of weeks, averaging 16 points.
“He’s so strong and athletic and is a great teammate. Our top six is pretty even and that means someone is not starting. He should start, but he’s played that role so well.”
Thomas confirmed that his role is to give the team energy. He did that Friday night for Marist in the second quarter with a pair of 3-pointers followed by a slam dunk.
It gave a boost to the second-seeded RedHawks, who won their 13th regional title and will play the third-seeded host Raptors (22-8) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Rich Township Sectional semifinals. Marist has won only one sectional title, back in 1981.
The 6-foot-3 Thomas, meanwhile, is enjoying his new home as the RedHawks have set a record for wins this season and are one of the top teams in the state in Class 4A.
“It wasn’t really that hard of a decision,” Thomas said of transferring. “I played with these guys. I played against them. I played with them.
“TJ and I played together back in fourth or fifth grade. I played with Marquis in eighth grade. We kind of all have that chemistry.”
Tate agreed he was happy when Thomas came to Chicago to play with the RedHawks.
“He’s very physical,” Tate said. “And he is willing to do it all. When he comes off the bench, he gets things clicking.”
In an era when it appears less high school athletes are getting Division I scholarships due to the transfer portal, Thomas said he has offers from Northern Illinois, Iona and Cal State Northridge.
But for now, his focus in on the Redhawks.
“This season is for the seniors, but we are playing for everybody in the whole school,” Thomas said. “I hope we go downstate and I hope we can do it next year, too.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.