Now in his ninth year at Campbell, and fifth as Associate Head Coach, Peter Thomas was Kevin McGeehan’s first hire when he was named head coach in April 2013. Since then, Thomas, a 2007 University of Richmond graduate, has played an instrumental role in the ascent of the Fighting Camel program.
Promoted to Associate Head Coach in June 2017, Thomas is involved in all aspects of the operation.
Over the past five years, Thomas has helped lead the Camels to 89 victories and three post-season berths – both tops in Campbell’s Division I era, which stretches to the 1977-78 campaign.
During that span, the Camels have claimed three Big South trophies. Campbell won the 2019 Big South regular season title and finished as Big South tournament runner-up in 2017 and 2021.
Campbell’s .630 winning percentage (17-10) in 2020-21 marked the program’s highest since the 2009-10 team finished 19-11 (.633).
After the Camels were picked 10th in the 2020-21 Big South preseason poll, Thomas helped guide the team to a 3rd-place finish in the regular season (11-6), then CU claimed wins over Gardner-Webb and Radford to reach the league final.
The Camels reeled off a school Division I era (since ‘77-78) record 9-game win streak to reach the Big South Championship game.
He coached a pair of Big South all-conference honorees in 2020-21 – Cedric Henderson, Jr. and Jordan Whitfield. Whitfield was joined on the Big South all-tournament team by Ricky Clemons.
The Camels led the Big South Conference – and ranked 10th in the nation – in team field goal percentage in 2020-21. CU’s 58.5 field goal percentage in the Big South semifinal win at Radford set a school mark for highest team FG% in Big South tournament play. The Camels made a season-high 67.1 percent of their shots vs. Florida National (12/10), one day after making 60.5 percent vs. New Orleans. CU hit 62 percent from the floor in an 84-83 loss Dec. 30 at eventual Big South champion Winthrop.
In addition, Campbell ranked fourth in the country in points after called timeouts and 25th nationally in 3-point accuracy (.375).
Cory Gensler was named the 2020 Big South men’s basketball scholar-athlete of the year and the Camels ranked among league leaders in free throw percentage, turnover margin, assists, steals and assist-turnover ratio.
The 2018-19 Camels compiled a 20-13 overall record and their first league regular season title since 2010 by posting a 12-4 record and earning the top seed in the conference tournament for the first time. CU earned the Big South’s automatic berth to the NIT – another program first – and produced the program’s first 20-win season in a quarter century.
The 2019 Camels ranked among the country’s top 20 schools in turnovers per game, fewest turnovers, turnover margin, assist turnover ratio and free throw percentage.
CU won the Rose Hall Division of the Jamaica Classic and went on to claim 12 league wins, the most by a Campbell squad since 2010. CU also set new school single-game (3,351) and single season (2,196 average) attendance records during the 2019 campaign.
Thomas was the lead recruiter of Chris Clemons, the 2016 Big South freshman of the year and 2019 league player of the year. Clemons became the first Camel to earn All-America honors on the Division I level after leading the nation in scoring (30.1) as a senior in 2019. Clemons scored a school and Big South single-season record 993 points in 33 outings in ’18-19. He finished his career third all-time among NCAA Division I scorers with a league record 3,225 points and tied the national record by scoring in double figures in 115-straight games. Clemons signed a free agent contract with the Houston Rockets and made his NBA debut on Nov. 3, 2019.
The 2017-18 Camels reached the semifinal round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). For the second-straight season, Campbell won two post-season games – defeating Miami (Ohio) of the Mid-American Conference and Sun Belt member New Orleans before dropping a 3-point decision at West Coast Conference member San Francisco.
CU led the Big South Conference (and ranked 33rd in the nation) in field goal percentage (.477) in 2017-18, while rating second in the league in 3-point accuracy (.388, 29th in the country) and free throw shooting (.750, 51st in the nation).
In 2016-17, Campbell recorded 19 victories – the second-most in the school’s Division I era – reached the Big South Conference Championship game, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Post-Season Tournament.
Thomas served five years as director of basketball operations at the University of Richmond before accepting a position as assistant coach at Campbell University in April 2013.
At Campbell, Thomas is involved in all phases of the basketball operation, including on-court coaching, recruiting, scouting, player skill development and academic mentoring.
The 2015-16 club opened the year with the program’s best start since 2011-12. CU went 2-0 against Southern Conference schools and also won at Conference USA member Charlotte.
In his first year in Buies Creek, Thomas helped guide a team that went 3-0 against Southern Conference members and posted three victories over schools that advanced to post-season play.
In 2014-15, he helped guide a club that ranked among the nation’s top 40 in 3-point field goals made and attempted. He also helped the team improve its defensive rebounding figures nearly 200 spots in the national rankings, including a stint among the nation’s top-20 in the category.
During his playing and coaching career, Thomas was a member of three Richmond teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament (2004, 2010, 2011).
Among the highlights for the Richmond program during Thomas’ time on staff was consecutive NCAA tournament berths, including a trip to the 2011 NCAA Sweet 16. The Spiders were ranked in the national top-25 polls in 2010 and set a school record with 29 victories one year later when they won the Atlantic-10 Conference championship.
Richmond’s senior class in 2012 tied a school record with 91 victories over a four-year span. The 2013 team advanced to the CBI quarterfinals after matching a school standard with 15 home victories. Over his last three seasons with the program, Richmond posted nine victories over BCS conference teams, including five during 2010-11 and a victory over Wake Forest last December. In addition, Richmond won eight of its last 14 games against ranked opponents, most recently an 86-74 overtime triumph on Jan. 24, 2013 against No.-16 VCU.
While at Richmond, Thomas was responsible for the daily operations of the Spiders basketball office, including film breakdown, team travel and organizing the recruiting database. A 2007 Richmond graduate, Thomas served one year on the staff at Eastern Kentucky before returning to Richmond in 2008.
A native of Little Rock, Ark., Thomas began his playing career at Richmond as a freshman walk-on. He earned a scholarship prior to his junior year and started all 60 games during his final two seasons. Twice named to the Atlantic-10 Academic All-Conference team, Thomas served as captain of the Spiders during the 2006-07 campaign. He led the team in charges drawn for three-straight years and shot 48 percent from the floor during his career.
After graduating from Richmond as a history major, Thomas earned his master’s in sports management from Eastern Kentucky University in 2009.
Thomas, and his wife, the former Jamie Cooney, were married May 18, 2013. She is a 2016 graduate of the Campbell University Norman A. Wiggins School of Law. The Thomas’ are parents of a daughter, Claire Catherine, and son, Peter Owen IV.
