Maroon Basketball Loses Legend

head shot photo of RC basketball player Reggie Thomas with his name and the RC basketball logo overlay-ed
Reggie Thomas '85 passed away on Monday, September 7, 2020.

It is with great sympathy and heavy hearts that Roanoke College mourns the loss of men's basketball legend, Reggie Thomas. Thomas, a 1985 graduate and 2002 inductee into the Roanoke College Hall of Fame, passed early Monday morning surrounded by his mother and friends. 

Widely regarded as one of the top two guards to ever play in Salem, only one other Maroon has ever scored more career points than did Reggie Thomas during his career as a men's basketball player at Roanoke College. One of the nation's top players throughout his four-year career, Thomas completed his career as a Maroon in 1985 with 1,873 points, 186 steals, and 292 assists. He ranks third in all-time steals and sixth in all-time assists in Roanoke's record books. A native of Danville, VA, Thomas never averaged less than 13.4 points per game in a season, peaking at 18.4 points a game as a senior.

He led the Maroons in scoring and assists in each of his final two seasons. One of seven players to have his jersey retired, Thomas was a First Team All-American in 1984 and 1985 and helped the Maroons to 105 wins during his career. He was a sophomore on the 1982-83 team that advanced to the NCAA Final Four, averaging 16.3 points. After being named to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference's Second Team All-Star squad as a freshman, Thomas followed with three consecutive appearances on the league's First Team All-Conference team.

Arrangements are being made and will be updated here as they become available.