By Joshua Abraham From left, David Thomas, former MSU Basketball player and current Director of Men’s Basketball Operations, Gregory Eaton, Michigan’s first African American lobbyist, head men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo and Joel Ferguson, chairman of the board of trustees pose for a picture August 11, 2015 at the Detroit Golf Club during the MSU Black Alumni Association Golf Classic. Joshua Abraham/The State News Both MSU basketball teams made changes to their staff on Thursday, according to msuspartans.com. Men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo announced that former MSU basketball player David Thomas has been named as the new men’s Director of Basketball Operations while head women’s coach Suzy Merchant announced Alysiah Bond will fill Thomas’ void as the Women’s Director of Basketball Operations and Technology. “David Thomas is a great addition to our staff as Director of Basketball Operations. He brings experience from both the business world and athletics, having worked with Suzy Merchant and the women’s basketball team,” Izzo said in a release. “He also provides a link to our past, having been a member of the 2000 NCAA Championship team, as well as four Big Ten Championship and three Final Four squads.” Thomas played for MSU from 1996-2001 as a guard/forward, and was a part of the 2000 team that won a National Championship. He started 42 games and averaged 3.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 114 career games. Thomas graduated from MSU in 2001 with a degree in advertising and went on to a nine-year professional career. Thomas is replacing Kevin Pauga, who has been promoted from the athletic staff and will move to the administrative staff as the Assistant Athletic Director for the men’s basketball team. Filling Thomas’ shoes will be Bond. Prior to her job at MSU, Bond was the Director of Basketball Operations at Arizona from 2008-2011. She was also an assistant coach at Central Florida from 2007-08. …
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