Former Enemies a Double Threat for Washington : Harris, Thomas Put Mutual Dislike Aside, Lead Generals on Road to Championship

Dayron Harris and Stacey Thomas are standout basketball players for Washington High School, but there was a time when they were anything but close teammates.

“I couldn’t stand Stacey in junior high school,” Harris said. “For some reason, I just always wanted to fight him.”

That was until Harris and Thomas became teammates. Now they are key players for the Generals, who are hoping to win the school’s first City boys’ basketball championship since 1949.

With a 20-3 record, Washington is among the favorites to win the City 4-A Division title. In what was supposed to be a rebuilding season, Harris and Thomas have made the Generals the surprise team of the City section.

“They are both outstanding players who have been coming through for us this year,” Washington Coach Dave Johnson said. “To me, Dayron is a smaller version of (former Crenshaw great and current Los Angeles Clipper) John Williams, while Stacey is like (former Manual Arts and Pepperdine star) Dwayne Polee.”

Harris, a 6-foot-4 junior, has received more attention because of his strong inside game and soft touch from the outside. He averages 18 points and 9.5 rebounds a game. College scouts consider him a top NCAA Division I prospect.

“Even though his passing skills are not as good, he does remind me of Williams,” said Johnson, who played point guard at Washington in 1979-80. “Harris is a tremendous talent who really is just starting out.”

Thomas, a 6-4 senior, has been the steady force inside for the Generals. He averages 8.6 points and 9.8 rebounds a game.

“Stacey doesn’t have the offensive skills of Polee, but he has the same intense attitude (Polee) had,” Johnson said. “He just goes out there and never quits at any time on the court.”

Now that the two players are friends, Harris is unable to identify the reason he disliked Thomas. In fact, the two had something in common: Neither played basketball as a youngster.

Harris thought football would be his game when he played linebacker on a local Pop Warner team.

“I didn’t start playing basketball until I was in the eighth grade,” Harris said. “I was chunky as a kid, so I always played football. I only played basketball because my friends always wanted me to join them after football season.”

At first, Harris had problems absorbing the subtle aspects of basketball. Rebounding, however, was never a problem.

“When I first saw Dayron, I knew he was special,” Johnson said.

During the summer before he enrolled at Washington as a ninth-grader, Harris grew four inches. The added height helped him earn a spot on the Generals’ freshmen team, where he was reunited with Thomas, his junior high nemesis.

Once Harris became teammates with Thomas, he realized that Thomas was a better friend than potential opponent.

“It’s funny now when (Harris) tells me that he had wanted to fight me in junior high, because we are such good friends now,” Thomas said. “It’s because of basketball that we are.”

Thomas’ first opportunity to play organized basketball came when he was in the 10th grade.

“I had wanted to play basketball for a while, but I couldn’t because I had to baby-sit for my younger sister after school when I was in junior high,” Thomas said. “Finally, I got my chance my sophomore year. Then, once I started to play, I wished that I’d played in junior high because it was fun.”

Thomas quickly found that he was a good rebounder and defensive player. He spent his sophomore year on the junior varsity and was a varsity starter for most of last season.

“From Day One, Stacey has been the player who has done all of our dirty work,” Johnson said.

“Before one game against Westchester last year, I went up to him and told him that we needed 17 rebounds from him. So he went out and got 17 boards. It surprised me only because I knew he had the heart, but I just did not know whether he could do it.”

Harris and Thomas intend to bring Washington its second City title. And Johnson hopes that the two players have started the Generals on the road to becoming a perennial City power.

“A couple of years ago, people knew we were trying to bring our program up,” Johnson said. “Now, hopefully with the start of this year’s team, we’ll be able to stay there.”