By Gio Gennero | Sports Writer
After five seasons in the green and gold, No. 11 and third-seeded Baylor men’s basketball’s fifth-year senior forward Flo Thamba is going into the NCAA tournament looking to polish off his already loaded Baylor resume. Thamba has become the all-time winningest player in program history, and in his time helped to capture two Big 12 championships and the 2021 national championship.
“He’s given his everything to the program,” redshirt senior guard Adam Flagler said. “He’s sacrificed so much and just been a leader on and off the court, a true image of what Baylor basketball is.”
In his final season, Thamba has averaged 5.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, but his impact goes beyond just the numbers. Flagler said he believes Thamba doesn’t get enough credit and said the guards wouldn’t have the success they do without him on the court.
“Stats is what’s most eye-opening for the public, but with him, he does everything to allow our stats to pop,” Flagler said. “He’s the one freeing us up on screens, he’s getting those extra rebounds. His understanding of setting us up and being a relentless worker out there really helps us to have more opportunities. Without him we wouldn’t be able to thrive out there.”
Head coach Scott Drew said he hopes Thamba ends his college career on top because he has meant a lot to this team and program. Drew said Thamba’s outlook in the stat sheet doesn’t tell the full story, unless you’re counting wins because that’s what ultimately matters most.
“Flo is somebody who is solid like a rock. He’s got great toughness to him and great stability,” Drew said. “A lot of the things he does doesn’t show up in the stat sheet but [it does in] the win column. That’s why he’s the winningest player. He has a lot of accolades that show stability and winning.”
Drew and the program have given Thamba three special basketballs as a way of honoring three records that were set in 2022-23. Thamba has the most Big 12 wins in program history (55) and is Baylor’s all-time leader in both games played (114) and career wins (123).
“If we give him one more [award ball] we won’t have anymore to practice with,” Drew quipped.
Entering his final postseason, Thamba and the Bears earned a top-three seed for the third-consecutive NCAA tournament. Thamba is one of two Baylor men’s basketball players to ever play in at least 10 NCAA tournament games, and is one of three players in program history to record eight starts.
“We just focus on the next game,” Thamba said. “Most importantly we just go out there, play our game, execute and try to handle business. … We don’t really focus on that, even though we appreciate being recognized for the talent our team has. We just pride ourselves with going out there and playing to the best of our ability. With this year’s group, we have the ability to do that.”
For Thamba, returning for a fifth year was a decision based on something bigger than basketball. For him, it is a chance to give back to his hometown of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“After I’m done playing I want to open up a nonprofit that’s going to have a partnership to give clean water to Africa,” Thamba said. “The reason I had that in mind is because growing up in Congo, we had limited access to water in general. Just having that perspective, I want to make a difference in my culture, because I have an opportunity to do something big.”
