Time and again, someone will walk up to Rob Thomson — the towering center for the Fairfield Stags — and ask for a quick question. Before the person even asks, Thomson knows the answer. “Six foot ten,” he says.
Thomson is entering his sophomore season of men’s basketball with a great deal of expectations surrounding the team. The Stags have been ranked second in the MAAC Coaches’ preseason poll thanks in part to their talented crop of new recruits, among them the even taller Ajou Deng formerly at Connecticut.
When asked if he thinks the Stags will play in the NCAA tournament over one of his next three seasons, Thomson quickly fired back, “We better!” After a slight pause he elaborated; “That’s obviously the goal … with the talent and coaching staff the potential is there … we just got to go out and do it.”
In an email, Head Coach Tim O’Toole wrote, “Robbie is an outstanding young man… He is a tireless worker, great team player and very skilled both on offense and defense. We are going to rely a great deal on Robbie this year to provide us with solid defensive play as well as an interior scorer.”
Brian Gambardella ’04, Thomson’s floor-mate last year and ardent basketball fan had similar praise and said that Thomson had a “quiet confidence about him.”
Thomson pointed to Iona’s success last season as a goal for Fairfield’s program. Both Iona and Holy Cross were in last season’s tournament and both teams gave their opposition more trouble than expected in the first round of the fabled tournament.
Entering his freshman year, Thomson had no idea that the Stags would emerge with such a capable team in such a classy facility. Thomson said that the Arena was “very exciting” and one of the finest 10,000 seat arenas in the nation. He added that he did not expect the facility to be this incredible. Also, he envisioned the possibility of high-caliber programs visiting the Stags. The team squares off against Michigan and several other prominent schools this year, but those games are on the road.
According to Thomson, O’Toole vowed to recruit the best possible players. In the center’s opinion, the coach has delivered. Thomson said that the freshmen recruits look very capable and will greatly add to the team.
As for this season, Thomson was clear that the team’s goal was to win the MAAC title and get a chance at the NCAA tournament. Thomson said, “I hear 100 times a day; “how’s the team doing?'” To answer that question, Thomson said that the team is practicing well and “playing together.” He identified a lack of consistency as one of the chief culprits in last year’s sub-.500 season.
Thomson has contributed to the Stags in tough games against Michigan and Rhode Island.
He credited time management as the key to playing a sport at a college level and completing the academic obligations too. His major is marketing, but he said that in five years, “I’d like to be playing basketball for money.”
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