Orlando Comets

Thomas has taken a circuitous route to stardom. Discovered by Nik Nikic at a Trinity Prep track meet as a 6'2" twelve year old, Krystal started her AAU career with Nik's team, the Orlando Lightning 12U. That's a comparatively late start, but Krystal prospered. A natural athlete, Krystal blossomed as she learned basketball fundamentals under Nik's tutelage. She used her long arms to become a defensive force in the middle and gradually developed post moves to round out her game.

At that time the Lightning and Comets were fierce rivals. The Comets won the initial matchups by huge margins. But as Krystal matured the victory margins shrank. Finally, in 2003 the Lightning merged with the Clearwater Heatwave and the competition between the two (three?) teams became intense. The Comets struggled to dispatch the Lightning at 2003 AAU states and again at 2003 YBOA Nationals. Comets Coach Jack Givens expressed his admiration for the Lightning's burgeoning superstar.

After the 2003 AAU season the Lightning and the Comets put aside their differences and decided to merge. Krystal stepped into the Comets' starting lineup. Also, this merger proved to be the impetus behind the formation of the Comets Blue team.

The addition of Krystal to the Comets Red roster has sprung the team from being a Top Ten team nationally to being a Top Five team with aspirations of winning the national championship. Krystal's speed and athleticism have allowed the Comets Red to press and run effectively against much larger teams. Her defensive presence anchors a team whose defensive philosophy encourages risk taking.

The 2006 Sentinel Player of the Year honor makes up for an egregious oversight by this same journal in 2005. Last year, Krystal led the TFA Royals to a 29-0 record and a berth in the state Final Four. But Krystal went into the semi-final matchup against Father Lopez with the flu and didn't play well. TFA lost the game on a last second bucket.

Apparently, that one performance over-shadowed a stellar season by Thomas, because she was ignored in both the local and state polls when the post season honors were handed out.

Krystal didn't let the oversight weigh her down. She re-applied herself over the summer and attracted the notice of a number of big time colleges. Krystal is currently being courted by Florida, Duke, Vanderbilt, North Carolina, Texas and Maryland. Which only goes to show that college coaches know more about assessing talent than sportswriters!!!!

The 2006 season will be Krystal's last AAU season. Like most big time recruits, Krystal will sign during the early signing period and sit out the 2007 AAU season so as not to risk an injury.

But we look for Krystal to dominate AAU during the 2006 season and hopefully lead the Comets to a golden summer!!