Thomas ready for fresh start at Arkansas

Arkansas forward Dustin Thomas goes through practice Monday, July 25, 2016, in Fayetteville.

— Perhaps no one on this year’s Arkansas basketball is more of an unknown than redshirt junior forward Dustin Thomas.

Will Thomas (6-foot-8, 225 pounds) be more like the Texarkana, Texas, Pleasant Grove high school standout that averaged 20 points, 14 rebounds, five steals and five assists per game or the former Colorado player that struggled while averaging 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds his sophomore season with the Buffaloes?

“I am ready to have a big season,” Thomas said. “I have put in the work, I have redefined my body and I now am in a system that plays to my strengths. I feel like this system at Arkansas allows me to play free instead of being limited like I was at Colorado.”

Thomas, who hit 48 percent of his three-point attempts as a senior, and his fellow Razorbacks went through five practices in the past week as they ready for a preseason exhibition tour of Spain from Aug. 6-16.

It’s clear that Thomas appears to be in better physical shape than he did while practicing last season and said that happened because of the time he spent with strength and conditioning coach Adam Pettway.

“I put in the time with (Pettway) and he got my body right,” Thomas said.

Thomas may weigh about the same, but his body has been redefined.

“They had me listed at 225, but I was usually at about 220,” Thomas said. “I have a lot more muscle mass now. I feel a lot lighter and a lot more explosive. I feel like I can play at this weight.”

Thomas had some legal issues upon arriving on campus last season when he was charged with counterfeiting, along with teammates Anton Beard and Jacorey Williams. He was fined $500 and ordered to complete 40 hours of community service.

He said he has moved past the incident.

“It was just a learning process,” Thomas said. “I had to sit that year out anyway. I really enjoyed it, playing against these guys in practice and just pushing then and motivating them and just competing with them.”

He is one of eight players on the Arkansas roster who are eligible to play their first season with the Razorbacks.

“It is good to have all these new guys in here competing with each other,” Thomas said. “I like this new group we have. We have a lot of competitors, a lot of guys that like to it is going to be a good year. You just get a feeling it is going to be a good year.”

Arkansas will play with FIFA rules in Spain, meaning that there will be a deeper 3-point line, a wider land and a 24-second shot clock instead of a 30-second one.

“It is an adjustment,” Thomas said. “The three-point line is back a little more, but that is just preparing us for another level. It is just adjustments that we have got to make and I feel like we will adjust.

Thomas knows Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson is all about the 24-second clock.

“It’s the fastest 40 so I know that Coach A loves it,” Thomas said. “When you only have 24 seconds, it speeds people up. I feel like we can play defense for 24 seconds.”