He doesn’t really resemble Shaquille O’Neal. No, if you are looking for an NBA player to compare Mountain State Academy’s newest addition to, then how about the New York Knicks’ Tim Thomas.

Fitting, because Shaquille Thomas is the nephew of the former Villanova All-American.

And despite getting the question thousands of times, Thomas isn’t named after O’Neal.

“No, it’s just the name my mother picked out,” he said.

Which seems appropriate, given he is making quite a name for himself in basketball circles.

For starters, Thomas is already rated as the No. 8 small forward for the Class of 2010 and 39th overall.

And the 6-foot-7, 190-pound junior’s recruiting list is a Who’s Who of major college powers: Kansas, Florida, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Syracuse, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Clemson.

So how did the New Jersey native end up at Mountain State Academy in Beckley?

“New Jersey used to have a rule that you could transfer to any other school and you had to sit out 30 days,” MSA coach Rob Fulford said. “They changed that to a year for this school year. Shaquille had transferred and he and (Tim Thomas) challenged the ruling. They had the hearing and he was ruled ineligible. They were going to appeal the ruling, but it was obviously taking more time than the family wanted.”

Fulford had talked to Thomas about MSA back in September.

So in December, Fulford made the trip to New Jersey and made his pitch again.

This time, it clicked.

“I didn’t really have any options in the tri-state area — New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — anyway,” Thomas said. “I felt like this was a good fit. It’s a lot different than being in the inner-city. Really, all we focus on is school and basketball. I knew what I was getting myself into when I came here and I like it.”

Thomas has appeared in three games with the Falcons and is averaging nine points per game. He will get a chance to enhance those numbers when MSA hosts Mount Zion tonight at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center at 6:30 p.m. NAIA No. 1 MSU plays WVU Tech at 4 p.m.

“I’m a big wing with athleticism,” Thomas said. “I do a bunch of everything (on the floor). Mainly, I just want to help this team as much as possible.”

“He is extremely athletic and plays a lot like (injured) Kofi (Mensa),” Fulford said. “He’s long, shoots the ball well, but he is a little timid on the defensive end, But his overall skill level is outstanding and he is a perfect complement to our team. He is exactly what we were missing.”

And yes, the fact that Fulford and Mike D’Antoni, the Knicks’ coach, are both from Mullens did play a small role in Thomas ending up here.

“I called and talked to Danny (D’Antoni, Mike’s brother) and I believe they both put in a good word for our program,” Fulford said.

“Rob told me he and Mike D’Antoni are from the same small city,” Thomas said. “It is (ironic).”

Goals for Thomas remain, as with most prep athletes, oriented around the team’s overall success.

“I want to help us win big games, like Oak Hill (Academy),” Thomas said. “Basically, I want to help put this team on the map. A lot of people don’t know who Mountain State Academy is. But we have a lot of great players here. I want to win big games and basically be a good teammate.”

Thomas said he texts his NBA uncle almost daily and they talk by phone often.

“It used to be hard,” he said of being the nephew of Tim Thomas. “Everybody knew me as Tim Thomas’ nephew. But this summer I started making a name for myself. Now people know me as Shaquille Thomas.”