Like Father, Like Son for the Thomases : Brethren Christian: Even though coach pushes his son to excel, they wouldn’t have it any other way.

CYPRESS —  Scott Thomas is in a tug of war with his two loves. And he can’t push either aside.

Thomas, a 6-foot-3 senior forward at Brethren Christian, is one of the outstanding prep basketball players in the county. As such, this is normally the time of year Thomas would be streaking up and down the hardwood floor, either fine-tuning his considerable skills during practices or leading the Warriors in nonleague games.

Not this year, though.

A talented wide receiver, Thomas is still running passing routes on the school’s football team, which finds itself in action much later in the season than usual. The Warriors, the Olympic League co-champions, face Big Bear in the Southern Section Division X semifinals Saturday.

Thomas, who has 52 receptions for 790 yards, is not complaining. But he’s growing more eager by the day about returning to the gym.

“I like basketball the best,” Thomas said. “I’m anxious to start (basketball). Getting to CIF (football playoffs) is exciting, but I can’t wait to play basketball.”

That goes double for his father, Richard, the basketball team’s coach. With an inexperienced squad dominated by juniors, Thomas the father needs Thomas the son to help the Warriors take a stab at a second consecutive league title.

Thomas is the only returning starter from a team that went 12-0 in league and 25-3 overall, and that advanced to the section Division V-AA semifinals. A polished defensive player, Thomas had 100 steals and 74 assists last season to go with his 10.4 scoring and 6.0 rebounding averages.

This season, Thomas will have to perform equally well defensively and look for his shot at the other end more often.

“I’m not going to rely on him totally, but he’s going to take a big part of the load,” said Richard Thomas, in his 10th season with the team. “He’s the one we are looking for to score between 15 and 20 points (per game).”

Last year, that responsibility fell on forward Chiron Hart, who led the team with a 17.0-point average. Hart graduated, however, and Thomas assumes the task. It’s a lot of pressure, but Thomas doesn’t seem to mind.

“I started working a lot on my shooting last summer (1991),” Thomas said. “Now I have a lot more confidence in my shot.”

At times, Thomas said, his confidence has been tested by playing for his father. But he is quick to point out that those situations are nothing more than the typical hassles between a coach and his players, and are not tied to their personal relationship. Once he realized the difference, Thomas said it became easier to deal with it.

“I used not to be able to handle it,” Thomas said. “I thought he was yelling at me as a father, but he was doing it as a coach. He does it with other players, too.”

Richard Thomas, who attended Brethren and scored 44 points in a 1968 game to set the school’s single-game scoring record, admits he has crossed the line with Scott a few times. But he says it was only because he wants his son to fulfill his potential.

“One of the bad points about coaching him is that I want him to excel, so sometimes I get a little overbearing, a little pushy,” Richard Thomas said. “But it’s also a great pleasure being able to coach my son. That’s one of the highlights of my career.”

Thomas, whose all-time single-game best is 24 points, understands where his father is coming from and says that he wouldn’t want to play for anybody else.

“It’s fun playing for him,” Thomas said. “He expects a lot from me. He pushes me harder than the other players because he wants me to go somewhere in basketball. But he knows the game and he has been a big help in my life.”

Although Richard Thomas wants his son to succeed, Scott Thomas says there’s a limit to those wishes.

“I’m not to beat his scoring record,” Scott Thomas said, laughing.

1991-92 in Review

Academy

League Overall School W L W L St. Margaret’s 8 0 16 8 Liberty Christian 6 2 17 7 St. Michael’s Prep 4 4 9 12 California Lutheran 2 6 9 8 Heritage Christian 0 8 7 12

League MVP: Toby Curto, Liberty Christian

Arrowhead

League Overall School W L W L Calvary Chapel 11 1 18 6 La Verne Lutheran 10 2 19 7 La Sierra Academy 8 4 16 11 Leffingwell Christian 6 6 13 10 So. Cal. Christian 4 8 7 16 Sherman Indian 3 9 7 13 CSDR 0 12 6 14

League MVP: John O’Brien, Calvary Chapel

Express

League Overall School W L W L Gethsemane Baptist 13 1 22 2 Southeast Lutheran 11 3 11 10 Downey Calvary Chapel 8 6 8 15 Harbor Christian 7 7 7 13 Rolling Hills Prep 6 8 6 9 Bethel Baptist 4 10 NA NA H.B. Claremont 0 14 0 18

League MVP: Garrett Huish, Downey Calvary Chapel

Metro

League Overall School W L W L Redlands Calvary Chapel 10 2 22 2 Anza Hamilton 8 2 13 10 Colton Christian Center 6 4 12 10 Riverside Christian 3 7 7 9 Bundy Canyon Christian 2 8 4 16 Pacific Shores 1 9 2 10

League MVP: Jeff Lindeman, Redlands Calvary Chapel

Olympic

League Overall School W L W L Brethren Christian 12 0 25 3 Orange Lutheran 8 4 15 13 Ayala 6 6 14 12 Cerritos Valley Christian 5 7 9 13 Whittier Christian 5 7 12 13 Capo Valley Christian 4 8 13 13 Ontario Christian 2 10 7 14

League MVP: Chiron Hart, Brethren Christian