Where Are They Now: Bud Thomas
3/31/2020 9:10:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Thomas was a member of the 2014 Atlantic Sun All-Tournament team and helped Mercer upset Duke in the NCAA Tournament.
MACON, Ga. – We all know about the great accomplishments that Mercer student-athletes have achieved during their time as a Bear, but what are they up to after they graduate? Today, we take a look inside former Mercer men's basketball player Bud Thomas' life and his career after Mercer.
Thomas was a four year member of the Mercer men's basketball team and a senior on the 2013-14 team that beat Duke in the NCAA Tournament. Thomas played an integral role on that squad and was named to the Atlantic Sun All-Tournament team in his final season.
During his Mercer career, Thomas was named to the Atlantic Sun Honor Roll on three occasions and earned a spot on the 2014 ASUN All-Tournament team. He scored a career-high 20 points in Mercer's 79-75 win over USC Upstate in the semifinals of the conference tournament and had a solid stat line of 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the winner-take-all championship game, a 78-70 win over rival Florida Gulf Coast, which secured the Bears a spot in the NCAA tournament.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY FROM YOUR TIME WITH MERCER BASKETBALL?
"Obviously the Duke win is something you dream about as a kid, but my teammates, and the process of getting to that win is what stands out. The rough freshman year we had, the CIT (CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament) run as sophomores, the heartbreaking end to junior year when we lost to FGCU. We learned so much from all those moments, and they strengthened us. There is no Duke win without those moments!"
FOR SOME BACKGROUND, WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR AT MERCER?
"I got a finance degree. I've always loved math and been really good with numbers."
HAVE YOU EARNED ANY ADDITIONAL DEGREES (MASTERS, PHD, CERTIFICATES) ETC. SINCE GRADUATING?
"I haven't earned any postgrad degrees yet."
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE SINCE GRADUATING? (LIFE, CAREER ETC.)
"I'm a finance manager for EchoPark Automotive, a car dealership that sells used cars, similar to a CarMax. My dealership sells 800-900 cars a month, so my job is to make sure the finance aspect of each deal is complete [regarding] Interest rates, money down and the length of the term for each loan. Then I disperse the loans out to the different banks."
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THE FUTURE WITH YOUR CAREER?
"I truly enjoy what I do and have had a lot of fun in the car business. EchoPark is expanding quickly, including coming to Atlanta in the future, and I would love to become the general manager of one of our stores!"
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS FOR THE COMING YEARS?
"Continue to learn and grow and be the best Bud Thomas I can be!"
To keep up with Bud Thomas, give him a follow on Twitter.
Follow the Bears:Â
For complete coverage of Mercer Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerMBB (Twitter), /MercerBasketball (Facebook) and @Mercer_MBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
Thomas was a four year member of the Mercer men's basketball team and a senior on the 2013-14 team that beat Duke in the NCAA Tournament. Thomas played an integral role on that squad and was named to the Atlantic Sun All-Tournament team in his final season.
During his Mercer career, Thomas was named to the Atlantic Sun Honor Roll on three occasions and earned a spot on the 2014 ASUN All-Tournament team. He scored a career-high 20 points in Mercer's 79-75 win over USC Upstate in the semifinals of the conference tournament and had a solid stat line of 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the winner-take-all championship game, a 78-70 win over rival Florida Gulf Coast, which secured the Bears a spot in the NCAA tournament.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY FROM YOUR TIME WITH MERCER BASKETBALL?
"Obviously the Duke win is something you dream about as a kid, but my teammates, and the process of getting to that win is what stands out. The rough freshman year we had, the CIT (CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament) run as sophomores, the heartbreaking end to junior year when we lost to FGCU. We learned so much from all those moments, and they strengthened us. There is no Duke win without those moments!"
FOR SOME BACKGROUND, WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR AT MERCER?
"I got a finance degree. I've always loved math and been really good with numbers."
HAVE YOU EARNED ANY ADDITIONAL DEGREES (MASTERS, PHD, CERTIFICATES) ETC. SINCE GRADUATING?
"I haven't earned any postgrad degrees yet."
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE SINCE GRADUATING? (LIFE, CAREER ETC.)
"I'm a finance manager for EchoPark Automotive, a car dealership that sells used cars, similar to a CarMax. My dealership sells 800-900 cars a month, so my job is to make sure the finance aspect of each deal is complete [regarding] Interest rates, money down and the length of the term for each loan. Then I disperse the loans out to the different banks."
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THE FUTURE WITH YOUR CAREER?
"I truly enjoy what I do and have had a lot of fun in the car business. EchoPark is expanding quickly, including coming to Atlanta in the future, and I would love to become the general manager of one of our stores!"
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS FOR THE COMING YEARS?
"Continue to learn and grow and be the best Bud Thomas I can be!"
To keep up with Bud Thomas, give him a follow on Twitter.
Follow the Bears:Â
For complete coverage of Mercer Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerMBB (Twitter), /MercerBasketball (Facebook) and @Mercer_MBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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