Community Media of South Central PA Celebrating Community
By STEVE HEISER
Steel sharpens steel.
It’s an adage much older than the game of college basketball, but Thomas Haugh hopes that it will ring true for his Florida Gators during March Madness.
Because if steel really does sharpen steel, the Gators should be razor-sharp for the gauntlet that lies ahead.
Haugh, a former standout player for New Oxford High School, has emerged as an integral part of a Florida team that has not only survived, but thrived, in a Southeastern Conference that is regarded as the premier college league in America for the 2024-25 season.
Haugh and his teammates believe that the weekly SEC dogfights they’ve endured over the last few months will have them primed, mentally and physically, to achieve their ultimate goal – winning an NCAA Division I national championship.
Florida’s resume thus far shows that goal is within reach.
Entering this weekend’s SEC Tournament, the Gators (27-4) are ranked No. 4 in the nation and appear to have a solid chance of earning a No. 1 seed when the NCAA brackets are released on Sunday. It’s estimated that 13 of the 16 SEC teams will make the final NCAA field of 68.
“Every game feels like a tournament game in the SEC,” Haugh said. “Feeling the pressure of playing good teams every night can only help us in the tournament.”
Haugh also believes the Gators have an intangible chemistry that may prove to be their secret weapon in the weeks ahead.
“Everyone loves everyone on this team,” Haugh said. “There’s no odd man out. Everyone hangs out with everybody. … I think after some of the first summer practices we knew this team was going to be something special and make a deep run.”
One moment in particular convinced Haugh that the Gators were really good.
“Beating No. 1 Auburn on the road (on Feb. 8) was pretty cool. It was electric,” he said. “It showed the world what we got. It shifted the season, in my opinion.”
Key player for Gators: Haugh has played a major role in the Gators’ success, even though he’s only started five games. He’s averaging 24 minutes per game, which is fifth on the team, and at crunch time in close games, he’s typically on the court.
For the season, the 6-foot, 9-inch, 215-pound sophomore forward is averaging 9.1 points and six rebounds per game, while shooting 49 percent from the floor, 35 percent from 3-point range and 81 percent from the foul line.
When recently given a chance to start because of an injury to Florida star big man Alex Condon (Haugh’s roommate and best friend on the team), the former Colonial increased his production significantly. In his five starts when subbing for the 7-foot Condon, Haugh averaged more than 13 points per game, including a career-high 20-point effort in his first career start vs. South Carolina.
Getting noticed for his efforts: His contributions have not been overlooked by his head coach, Todd Golden.
“Tommy is one of the guys that delivers the heartbeat for this team,” Golden told the Gainesville Sun earlier this season. “… (He) is playing like one of the best frontcourt players in America right now.”
Others have taken notice, too. Watch a Florida game, and the national TV announcers will invariably make a point of emphasizing Haugh’s pivotal contributions to the Gators.
In fact, by one metric, Haugh is considered one of the top 10 college players in the nation. Evan Miyakawa, of EvanMiya.com, has a formula that calculates a player’s overall value to his team when he’s on the floor – the Bayesian Performance Rating (BPR). According to that formula, Haugh is ranked No. 6 in the nation. The top two players in the BPR are Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Auburn’s Johni Broome, who are generally considered the two leading contenders for college basketball player-of-the-year honors. That, obviously, puts Haugh in some elite company.
Local support: That kind of success has made Florida games must-watch TV for the many folks back in Adams County who avidly follow the home-grown Haugh excel on the national level.
“(The local support) means a lot,” Haugh said. “My mom always tells me how many people stop her in stores to tell her they’ve been watching me play. New Oxford’s a town that’s super dear to me. I’m never going forget my time in town.”
Haugh played for one of New Oxford’s best-ever teams in 2019-2020, when the Colonials finished 26-5, including a run to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 5-A quarterfinals. The Colonials season stalled there, however, when the COVID pandemic prematurely ended the season. That New Oxford team included standouts such as Haugh, Abdul Janneh, Brayden Long, Noah Strausbaugh and Connor Jenkins.
“We were going to win that state championship,” Haugh said. “Our team was loaded with talent. I miss those guys.”
Haugh was a rail-thin 6-7 sophomore for that New Oxford team, averaging 7.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Going to Perkiomen: After that season, Haugh made the “really difficult” decision to leave New Oxford, and his family and friends, and compete for the Perkiomen School, a prep program in Pennsburg, Pa., which boasts a national level basketball program.
“That got me to where I am at now,” Haugh said. “My parents and coaches saw the vision. I knew where I wanted to be, and I was able to get there. I thought I could push myself more.”
Haugh stayed three seasons at Perkiomen, including an extra prep season. During that final season for the Panthers, he averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds, earning first-team all-state honors and helping Perkiomen win the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) state crown.
The attention he attracted during his stay at Perkiomen led to Haugh getting about 15 big-time scholarship offers. By comparison, when he left New Oxford, he only had one Division I offer, from Mount St. Mary’s, located in nearby Emmitsburg, Md.
So, the decision to go to Perkiomen obviously paid off.
Going to Florida: Ultimately, he sifted through the college offers and chose Florida.
“I loved Coach Golden and his style of play,” Haugh said. “He’s a player’s coach. He’s one of the guys.”
The Gators had one other factor in their favor while recruiting Haugh – one his favorite athletes is former standout Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. In fact, one of Haugh’s favorite books is written by Tebow: “One-Year Devotional: Mission Possible.”
“I love the way that Tim Tebow shows how to be an athlete and a Christian athlete at the same time. And that’s what I am too. I’ve always looked up to him. I haven’t met him yet, but I want to really bad. Maybe if we make a good (tournament) run, he will come to some games, and I’ll get to meet him.”
As a freshman at Florida, Haugh made an impact, averaging 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest while playing in every game for a Gators team that finished 24-12. His impact has grown this season for an even better Florida team.
Hoping for a pro career: Golden expects Haugh to be a starter next season for the Gators. After he finishes his Florida career, the marine science major has his sights set on a pro basketball career, possibly in Europe, but hopefully in the NBA.
He knows that, to reach that goal, his game must improve.
“I definitely must improve my ballhandling and I need to stretch the floor. And become a more consistent shooter,” he said.
His family is his rock: Getting to the point where a pro career is very possible may not be all that surprising, considering Haugh’s gene pool.
His grandfather, Mike Fuhrman, played college football at Memphis and had a stint with the Baltimore Colts. His parents, Ryan and Jennifer, played for Shippensburg University – his father in football and his mother in volleyball. His brother, Tanner, is a starter for the New Oxford basketball team. And his sister, RyLee, was a track athlete for the Colonials who now also attends Florida.
His family, Haugh said, has been his rock, making numerous sacrifices so he could succeed. Even now, Haugh said he talks to his parents nearly every day. He fondly remembers long drives his mother would make to games, while he slept in the back seat.
“Since a young age, I’ve always been around sports. … It was awesome. It shaped me into the player I am today,” Haugh said. “My parents were always there for me, and being athletes, they knew what it’s like. Without them I’d be nowhere close to where I am now.”
Where he is now, is in the national spotlight. That spotlight will only get brighter if the Florida Gators can continue their magical season deep into March Madness.
Steve Heiser is a lifelong Adams County resident who has nearly four decades of sports journalism experience as a reporter and editor.
This is a great article on Thomas and his background, successes, supports and ambitions. One small detail was omitted. His “Mommom” (grandmother), also an athlete at Ship, would go with him late at night to a family gym to shag hundreds of balls as he worked on free throws, threes and other shots. She is also the keeper of all the articles and media coverage Thomas has received. I’m sure this article is already in his scrapbook.
Thanks for this coverage🐊🏀