The Portal Panther basketball team saw three of their four starters sign scholarships this year.
Recently there was a fourth as the Panthers leading scorer, Joseph Thomas signed with Arkansas Little Rock. The Trojans are a D-1 member and play in the Ohio Valley Conference. Thomas was excited to get the opportunity and continue his dream of playing Division-1 basketball.
“I chose to come to Arkansas Little Rock because it is the highest level and I felt like the coaches really appreciated me,” Thomas said. “The feel I can play immediately as a freshman. They have all the resources and things I need to reach the next level, which is the NBA. I want all the underclassmen and other players at Portal to understand that even though Portal is a small school, if you work hard and stick to it you can make it to the highest level as well.”
“Jo was a leader by example,” said Portal coach Jeff Brannen. “He is one of the hardest working players I have ever coached. He played in 111 games in his career and averaged 15.9 points per game.”