Montini boys basketball coach Daryl Thomas, a McDonald’s All-American at St. Joseph who was an All-Big Ten forward for Indiana’s 1987 national champion team, died Wednesday morning of a heart attack, Montini announced via its Twitter account. He was 52.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that our Head Basketball Coach, Daryl Thomas, passed away from a heart attack this morning,” the school said.
At Indiana, Thomas scored 20 points in the Hoosiers’ 74-73 win over Syracuse in the National Championship game. Thomas got the assist on Keith Smart’s game-winning basket.
“Coach Bob Knight, who in my opinion is the greatest college coach ever, instilled in me being a man and being accountable," Thomas told the Tribune in 2015.