Jefferson great Bryan Thomasson sees continued success coaching on Pro-Am

The only help Gray received was when Dream Team head coach Bryan Thomasson had the wherewithal to call a timeout in the wake of the foul — levied by Harris, who was merely trying to avert a gimme layup — giving his shooter a chance to regroup at a crucial third-quarter juncture, one that saw Dream Team build a slight 54-51 lead.

“In the regular season, no (a defender wouldn’t do that), but right now it has to be,” Thomasson said. “That has to be the level of physicality right now. I mean, this is it. This is like the playoffs at any stage. No layups.”

Thomasson echoes the old school because he understands it as well as anyone. A 1988 graduate of Jefferson, Thomasson started playing in the Pro-Am in the summer of 1989 after his freshman year at Skyline College. He played 12 years on the summer circuit at Kezar, and is now in his 11th season as a coach.

In addition to reaching the Pro-Am championship series six times as a coach, Thomasson has also coached AAU basketball for the past decade with SF Work Hard Play Hard, working with youth ages 9-17. He is also a junior-varsity boys’ basketball coach at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

“I’m just always surrounded around basketball,” Thomasson said. “This is just a different level, but it’s still basketball at the end of the day.”

The different level of the Pro-Am was on display Wednesday night. Dream Team went on to win 98-82, but that score is deceptive. There were 13 lead changes in the game, including eight in the fourth quarter, with Dream Team pulling ahead 82-80 with four minutes to play before ending on an 18-2 run.

Gray survived the walloping third-quarter foul to finish with 18 points, as four of the team’s five starters scored in double figures. Sayeed Pridgett, a 6-5 native of Oakland who plays overseas in the Greek professional league, scored a game-high 36 points, including a red-hot start with 15 points in the first quarter and an impactful finish with 12 in the fourth.

“I preach the same: Play hard, play defense, floor spacing, all that stuff,” Thomasson said. “So, that doesn’t change.”

Pridgett played for SF City last season, but moved to Dream Team this summer.

“It fit my game more,” Pridgett said. “It let me be who I am, and let me play at the highest level I could play.”

Pridgett said the freedom to play his game comes directly from Thomasson, who he described as a player’s coach. Thomasson is also strategic, one who demands hustle and grit, but can also layer defensive looks like a chess tactician.

Dream Team’s task Wednesday was stopping SF City’s star point guard, 2023 Pro-am MVP Ky Bowman, who was coming off a dizzying Game 1 performance. Monday’s SF City win 108-102 in overtime was the second time Bowman’s then-undefeated crew beat Dream Team this season.

The loss did not sit well with Thomasson, especially after Dream Team shot just 11 of 25 from the free-throw line.

“I hate to lose,” Thomasson said. “At this stage of my life, it should be like nothing. But we lost Game 1 Monday, I couldn’t sleep at nighttime. That’s just how I’m built. So, it was good to get the get-back tonight.”

Free-throw shooting was a different story Wednesday, as Dream Team hit 22 of 27 from the stripe. More so, Thomasson’s approach to coaxing double-team tenacity out of his defense helped contain Bowman, as the former Golden State Warrior opened by splashing a long 3 before cooling off, totaling 15 points on the night.

“The bottom line is — he’s a pro — you’ve got to get the ball out of his hands,” Thomasson said of Bowman, who now plays internationally in the Italian professional league. “And I think we did a great job of that tonight.”

Thomasson is Jefferson’s all-time leading scorer, a record he set as a four-year varsity player with 1,663 points. It’s a record that has stood for 25 years, since Thomasson led Bud Bresnahan’s Jefferson program to the 1988 CIF Division III state championship, the first state title in San Mateo County history, and the only one for Jeff.

“Every year I talk about the history of Jefferson basketball with my team, and his name always comes up,” current Jefferson head coach John Falabella said. “And I don’t think his point total is really achievable unless someone plays all four years with the program.”

Bresnahan said he glimpsed Thomasson’s leadership abilities during his playing career. These he glimpsed through the dynamic guard’s on-court decision making.

“He had some real skills, I thought, because he was a real student of the game,” Bresnahan said. “Sometimes when you’re coaching, you have to make certain decisions ... and I thought Bryan really had the makings of that.”

The pinnacle of Thomasson’s precise style of uptempo play came in his final high school game, Jefferson’s 77-71 win over Lincoln-San Diego for the state championship. Much like Wednesday’s Game 2 win, it was a back-and-forth frenzy. The go-ahead shot was a step-back 3 for the highlight reel. Jeff trailed by 2 when Thomasson faked a dribble to shake a defender, then squared up to drill the J for a go-ahead 3.

Jeff never trailed again.

“But I didn’t call the play,” Bresnahan said. “It was Bryan’s instinct that he thought he could make that particular shot.”

The SF Pro-Am concludes Friday night. Game 3 is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m.

“It’s going to be another battle,” Pridgett said. “Another good game.”

And Thomasson should be good and rested for the summer finale. There’s no sleepless nights after a big win, after all.

“It’s pride,” Thomasson said. “No one wants to lose. All these guys play college basketball, and overseas and stuff like that. So, everything’s always pride. Nobody wants to lose. We lost to them in the regular season, and they advanced to the championship, and we just didn’t want to get swept. And we laid it all on the line tonight.”