Merrick Thomson (above) and University at Albany teammate Frank Resetarits were the scoring leaders on a team that made its first NCAA tournament appearance in school history.
ENTRY DRAFT PROSPECT: MERRICK THOMSON
Another standout from U at Albany poised to make NLL impact
08/27/2007
The graduating senior lacrosse players from the University at Albany are likely to continue making their mark on the game well beyond their college careers. In addition to Frank Resetarits (see next story), Merrick Thomson is another proven scorer who projects to be an early first round selection in the Entry Draft on Saturday.Thomson (6'2", 210) was voted all-conference four times, including a pair of first-team selections, during his career. He netted 56 goals and ranks third among the nation's leaders at 3.11 per game. Thomson was named the America East Championship's most outstanding player after accounting for 10 goals and two assists in the postseason tournament. A native of Stony Creek, Ontario, Thomson participated in the 66th Annual USILA North-South Classic along with UAlbany teammate Frank Resetarits. He finished as the program's career scoring leader with 188 goals and 56 assists for 244 points. He helped lead UAlbany to the NCAA quarterfinal round for the first time in the program's history, and a school-record 15-3 mark.
"He was a great off-ball player in the field game", said one NLL general manager. "He's got great stick work, is an excellent finisher and has good size for the indoor game", said one NLL scout. "The only question is how quickly can re-adjust his skills to the indoor game". Thomson hails from Stony Creek, a town near Hamilton in the southern region of Ontario. He excelled at indoor lacrosse at the junior level, but has not played indoors in recent summers. "He's an interesting guy, and deserves be one of the top selections even though he's been away from playing indoor", said one GM.
Thomson, a lefty, certainly had trouble adjusting to the college game. As a freshman, he scored 47 goals, a record for freshman at the school. He may also benefit from a need that is showing up across the league. "It seems like the demand for left-handed forwards is especially high this year"Â, said one GM. "You can't play without them, so it may allow some of the lefties in the draft to move up." Brian Shanahan of Inside Lacrosse predicts in his latest InsideLacrosse.com column that either Thomson or Jordan Hall of the University of Delaware will be the top overall selection.
The Entry Draft takes place on Saturday, September 1 at 4PM Eastern. Watch our live webcast of the draft here at nll.com.
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