Lees-McRae College Head Men's Basketball Coach Desean Motley made the addition of William Thomas Jr. to the Bobcat program in August of 2025 as the Graduate Assistant. 
 
Thomas comes to Banner Elk from Johnson & Wales University (CLT), where he served as Assistant Coach under Head Coach Marc Slade for two years. He was involved in all aspects of the program, including recruiting, scouting, travel logistics, game planning, player development, and conditioning.  
 
While at JWU, He was a part of the transition from USCAA to NCA Division III joining the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference while breaking team records such as Highest Three Point Field Goal % & Highest Semester Team GPA.  

Thomas graduated from North Carolina A&T State University with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Science Fitness Management and is currently enrolled in the Master of Science in Human Services at Lees-McRae.