January 27, 2026 // Diocese

Luers Holds Homecoming for Basketball Legend

Chelsea Alt

Graphic Designer

After a standout prep career, a decorated collegiate run, and a dozen years playing internationally at the professional level, Deshaun Thomas’ basketball journey has come full circle and ended where it all began – at Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne.

The 2010 graduate who recently announced his retirement from basketball was honored with a special celebration at Bishop Luers on Saturday, January 17. The event, titled “Once a Knight, Always #1,” featured a public meet and greet followed by a jersey retirement ceremony before the Knights tipped off their varsity boys basketball game against Blackhawk Christian. This commemorative evening offered fans, students, and local community members the chance to celebrate Thomas’ legacy as one of the most accomplished athletes in Bishop Luers history.

“It’s something special,” Thomas said of the celebration to Today’s Catholic and other local media. “It lets you know that [with] the hard work I put in, anything is possible. As long as you stay faithful, as long as you stay locked in and believe in God, anything is possible in your career. I think this is something special – something I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life.”

While Bishop Luers principal and head boys basketball coach Seth Coffing called the honor “long overdue,” he admitted it had not been possible previously due to Thomas playing overseas each winter.

“It’s really cool for us to be able to honor him here tonight,” Coffing said. “This is actually his first time being back at a game at Luers since he played here, and I think he really appreciates us doing this for him. It’s the least we can do for the type of career, the type of joy that he brought to people here at Bishop Luers while he played here.”

Thomas’ four years with the Knights were indeed a joyful time for Luers fans. In addition to receiving All-Conference and All-Area honors each season, Thomas led Bishop Luers to back-to-back Class 2A State Championships in 2008 and 2009 – the only two state titles in program history. As a senior in 2010, Thomas was named a McDonald’s All-American and received the coveted title of Indiana Mr. Basketball as the best prep player in the state. Thomas finished his high school career with 3,018 points, the third most in the history of Indiana high school basketball. Needless to say, Thomas said Bishop Luers will always hold a special place in his heart.

“It’s very emotional, because this is where it started,” reflected Thomas. “Luers gave me a chance. They took me in – tall kid, 6’7”, 6’8”, however you want to say the height – took me in and saw something special. I learned a lot here at Luers. I didn’t just become a great basketball player; I became a man. I became a great father, just because of my experience here at Luers.”

Thomas spoke to the boys basketball team prior to the game, challenging each player to have something to fight for. He encouraged them to take the court each night as he did while at Luers – to play with passion, be yourself, play as hard as you can, and enjoy the game. Coffing said the example that Thomas has set for his players to follow is invaluable.

“Everybody knows him because he scored so many points, but ultimately, Bishop Luers people see him because he’s a winner,” Coffing stressed. “His true tradition here is the state championships, how he went about his business here and winning so many games. … But really, the way he carries himself and the way he carried himself here at Luers, by all accounts, too, is very impressive, and that’s something I want my guys to see.”

Following graduation, Thomas excelled as a versatile scoring forward at Ohio State University, helping to lead the Buckeyes to the Final Four in 2012 and earning Third Team All-America honors in 2013. He parlayed this collegiate success into a professional career, spending more than a decade in different European leagues and playing in countries such as France, Spain, Italy, Israel, Japan, Germany, and Greece. Thomas claimed experiencing so many different cultures “makes you appreciate a lot of things more when you see the people over there and how they live, how they enjoy life.”

Although now retired, Thomas plans to keep busy running a couple businesses and training kids. He is dedicated to educating today’s youth both on and off the court and finding ways to give back to the community that helped shape him. Thomas will also get to spend more time with his family, and despite all the honors he earned over the years, Thomas said teaching his three boys how to be men and to care about people is what he is most proud of. It’s an outlook that’s only possible because of his faith – a faith that has carried him through the highs and lows of his career and remains with him today.

“Oh man, it helped me a lot,” Thomas said of his faith. “I give props to my father, my grandma. I grew up around the church. I grew up every day in Bible studies and learning the faith and what God had in store for me and the gifts that He gave me. So, it’s been very, very strong for me in my career, especially when things were tough, especially in college and even in the pros. You’ve got to understand: I’m in Europe for almost 10 months and at home for a month and a half. So, it gets tough leaving the family and doing all those great things. But when I stay prayed up and believe in God’s work and His plans, everything’s going to be fine.”