| Angel Johnson runs the point and is on point and to the point for Anthony Medina’s Celts. St. Thomas (Texas) athletics photo |
By Ryan Scott
D3hoops.com
Anthony Medina is at the center of St. Thomas basketball — no, not the Tommies in purple, now plying their trade in Division I and the NIT, but the Celts of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas.
“I was the first recruit here,” says Medina, who transferred in from junior college when the men’s basketball program started in 2010. He played three years for the Celts and then embarked on a coaching journey that brought him back home to UST when his coach, Todd Smith, moved full-time into the AD position.
Notes Medina: “I might be the only coach in the NCAA to make the move I made. I wasn’t even an assistant; I was a volunteer high school coach who got a college head coaching job.”
Obviously his strong ties to the school made Medina’s hire a good choice, but he’s proven just how good on the court ever since. Guiding the school through a transition from NAIA to Division III, St. Thomas has been a force in the SCAC since their arrival in 2020.
This is already the fourth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Celts, who got their first win last year, and survived two weekends this March for a trip to Fort Wayne.
The Celts, year by yearA former member of the NAIA, St. Thomas (Texas) started provisional membership in NCAA Division III in the 2019-20 academic year, and was first eligible for the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23. COVID prevented the completion of the 2020 USCAA tournament and any 2021 postseason play. |
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| Year | Record | Finish |
| 2019-20 | 24-2, 16-2 | USCAA semis |
| 2020-21 | 11-4, 7-3 | |
| 2021-22 | 22-5, 14-2 | Won SCAC final |
| 2022-23 | 23-4, 16-0 | NCAA first round |
| 2023-24 | 20-7, 12-4 | NCAA first round |
| 2024-25 | 26-3, 15-1 | NCAA second round |
| 2025-26 | 29-1, 16-0 | ? |
It’s not their first foray out of Region 10, though. St. Thomas participated in the Lopata Classic in November, falling to host WashU on a last second Conner May bucket. That ended up being the Celts’ only loss of the year — one they were able to avenge at home last weekend.
“We took a lot of steps to prevent the things they did well,” says senior point guard Angel Johnson, of the rematch. “We’re a different team than we were.”
That’s a scary proposition for the final eight teams assembling this week in Indiana, because St. Thomas has been pretty good all year. The followed up the WashU loss by taking Division I UTEP to overtime, in a game (an exhibition for St. Thomas) the Celts controlled most of the game and probably should’ve won in regulation.
Transfer Corey Thompson led all scorers with 34 points in that one and he’s added an extra dimension to a team that lost three of the top six rotation players from a season ago. Thompson leads a diverse attack in scoring, but with a bunch of athletic, interchangeable guys, Johnson has a lot of options to make the offense go.
“We’re looking for forwards that can move, run, change direction, and have some ball skills,” says Medina. “When it comes to big, heavy body guys, that’s not a battle we’re going to win, but we’re not trying to win that way. We’re trying to win our way, and that’s with versatility. We start a 6-3 five man, but his versatility and his instincts are what allow him to play against bigger players — mobility and athleticism.”
St. Thomas’ size is certainly deceptive. The rotation includes a number of big, athletic guys who can make opponents work on both ends of the floor. They bring a toughness and tenacity that Medina says is indicative of Texas basketball, especially their hometown of Houston.
“If you look at U of H basketball, our style of play is very similar to theirs. There’s just something hard-nosed about the kids that we have down here. It’s physical; it’s aggressive; it’s intense. I think every kid in our program grew up pressing full court because that’s what every youth coach in the area does. That’s how they grew up. They press and trap and run.”
An improvement in intensity and focus have been evident as this St. Thomas team has come together. In Johnson’s four years as the floor general, average team turnovers have gone from 14 a game to 12 to 10 this season. He notes: “Everybody improved defensively. We’re very competitive in practice. Knowing when not to rotate, knowing which gambles to take and which ones not to take.”
Medina adds that decision-making, which comes through experience, has been a key to the now 26-game win streak the Celts take into their quarterfinal matchup with perennial power, Christopher Newport.
“Identifying rotations, identifying who needs help, recognizing coverages. We’ve got guys in the rotation with a ton of experience doing the things we’re asking them to do. That’s been paying dividends for us this year.”
CNU plays a similar hard-nosed, scrappy, defensive game, with physicality and a focus on rebounds. In many ways, the two teams we’ll see in the very first game Thursday are very much the same, of course, CNU is on a ten-year streak of winning at least one NCAA Tournament game (with three trips to the Final Four and one national championship), while St. Thomas hasn’t even been in Division III that long.
“It’s a really cool, unique opportunity,” says Medina. “I don’t think our guys care who they’re playing. They’re going to put five guys out there to play basketball and so do we. They have to beat the guys we put out there and we have to beat the guys they put out there.”
Johnson echoes: “We view everybody the same. They put their pants on the way we put our pants on. We’re ready to compete at every level.”
The Celts are even more ready after Johnson recovered from one of the more bizarre injuries you’ll see this year. He missed the first round game against Belhaven with frostbite.
“I went to cryo therapy and when I got out, my feet started to burn, so I contacted the trainer. It kept getting worse. I couldn’t walk. I was moving around with my hands. That’s when I knew there had to be something wrong.”
“It was a good team moment for us,” says Medina. “[Angel]’s run the team for us for four years. To walk into the first round against Belhaven who can press and trap, we don’t have a driver for the car. It was really good for the whole team and it was positive for the second and third round game.”
The next night, Johnson was back on the floor, even if he had to take his shoes off at every timeout to receive treatment.
“I lay it all on the line for my teammates. If my teammates need me, I have to do what I have to do.”
Every team talks about family, brotherhood, but there’s something unique about the culture of commitment and determination St. Thomas has put together. Not that it’s better or worse than what any other team has, but it’s something special and singular, a reflection of the coach and the program, and the players who’ve bought into it.
“These guys take pride in what we have,” reflects the coach. “I personally don’t come from a lot — we always took pride in the little things we had — our family. These guys take the same mindset. This gym here is not just a place to play basketball, that’s their home, it’s where they spend their time together, where they get to know each other. Do we have the same access to resources? No, but at the end of the day, it’s the people that matter the most to us and we really value that.”
St. Thomas may be the new kid on the block, new to Division III, new to Fort Wayne, new in the minds of long time fans and watchers, but they are not here just for the experience. They expect to win. When asked what the rest of the country needs to know about his team, Johnson answered simply:
“We’re ready to compete with anybody out there. Let them know, we’re coming.”
Now you know. Better be ready.