When Brock Thomas got the call about the Sequoyah boys basketball job, he wasn’t looking for a change.
However, everything about it just felt right.
Now the former Adair assistant is the new coach of the Eagles, bringing local roots, familiarity with the team and a reputation for stability to a program hungry to keep its recent winning tradition alive.
“I wasn’t looking to leave Adair,” Thomas said. “It just kind of happened really fast. They reached out, I thought it was a good opportunity and I went ahead and jumped on it.”
Thomas, who lives less than 30 minutes away in Pryor, has spent the last several years coaching against Sequoyah and even stepped in as head coach for a game during a previous emergency. That built-in familiarity, combined with relationships he had already developed with players, helped ease his transition into the new role.
“I think part of it is a little bit of familiarity,” Thomas said. “I’ve coached against them for six years now. My only game as a head varsity coach came against Sequoyah Claremore, matter of fact. I’ve been a head coach in junior high the whole time. We played them in junior high at least three or four times a year, between tournaments and home and away. I think part of it, too, is they went through I think three coaches in four years. Maybe they’re looking for a little stability.
“I’m a local guy, and it’s a place I would like to go. If everything goes as planned and they’re willing, I would like to spend a decent amount of time there.”
He is inheriting a roster full of potential.
Key returners include Mason Weeks and Derick Cole, along with senior leaders Gabe Pora and Acee Proctor after being part of an undefeated JV team last season. Younger talents like incoming freshman John Hull are also expected to contribute.
“They’ve been around successful basketball players for the last few years,” Thomas said. “They may not have got to play a whole lot because that senior group was so talented, but they kind of know what it takes to have that level of success. They’ve seen guys like Judah Gibson and Eestyn Prater and Kyler Moore and all those guys. They’ve seen all that success, but they’ve also been there to see some of the work that goes into it. I think those guys are understanding of that, and I think they’re hungry to get their turn of it.”
With Sequoyah cycling through several coaches in recent years, Thomas knows the value of consistency.
He praised past coaches like Fletcher Reed, Tim Bart and Larry Grigg for setting a high standard — one he intends to uphold. Those coaches combined to lead the Eagles to a 103-15 record over the past four seasons.
I think there will be some pressure just because Sequoyah is really used to having success over the last few years,” Thomas said. “I think that we’ll put pressure on ourselves just to try to uphold the positive direction. Coach Reed is a young guy, but he probably already has a Hall of Fame resume. Coach Bart is going to be a Hall of Famer and Coach Grigg is a Hall of Famer, so there’s big shoes to fill. There’s a little pressure, I guess. If I bring it full circle and really think about it, yeah, there is.”