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John Calipari's 5-star recruit Meleek Thomas pens heartfelt tribute to OTE as he prepares for his Arkansas career

Modified May 17, 2025 15:59 GMT

Five-star guard Meleek Thomas is set to begin his college career at Arkansas. Amid the transition, Thomas bid goodbye to Overtime Elite with a heartfelt note.

On Saturday, Thomas shared a nostalgic picture of a door with his name on the nameplate on Instagram. Along with the OTE symbol, the nameplate also mentioned his hometown, Pittsburgh. The shooting guard expressed his gratitude for his time at Overtime Elite.

"It been a real year @ote i learned a lot and got better Sec it's dat!" he captioned the picture.

On Instagram, OTE also shared pictures of the 2025 class at graduation.

"OTE Class of 2025 👨‍🎓 Big shoutout to all of our grads!"

Thomas began his basketball career at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School. In his junior season, he averaged 23.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 3.3 steals per game. He helped the team to its second consecutive PIAA state championship. Over three years at Lincoln Park, he scored 1,750 points.

Thomas left Lincoln Park to join the Overtime Elite's City Reapers. In 13 conference games between November and January, Thomas averaged 26.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 4.3 apg and 2.6 spg.

Meleek Thomas on his choice to sign with Arkansas

According to On3, Meleek Thomas is the 2025 class's No. 11 player and second among shooting guards.

Last year, he talked about his decision to choose Arkansas over Pitt and UConn,

“Just the love they showed,” Thomas told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “Not only to me, but also to my family. Play style. They’re just big on me, so I’m big on them.”

Arkansas coach John Calipari has been recruiting Thomas since his days at Lincoln Park.

“I’ve had that relationship with Coach Cal for years now,” Thomas said. “It’s always just progressed, it never went down. He just showed love and makes me feel like I should be at Arkansas.”

Thomas will join fellow five-star guard Darius Acuff at Arkansas.

“It’s going to be a special back court,” he said. “I don’t think no back court in the country is going to really be able to go head to head with us. Every night, you got to tie your laces up. Me and Cheeks, Vs. any two guards, I like us.”

With the top shooting guards on board, the Hogs fans are hoping for a great season.

About the author

Nishant is a Delhi-based journalist at Sportskeeda specializing in High School Sports. He graduated in Mathematical Sciences and is pursuing a Masters in Operational Research at Delhi University.

With his educational background and over four years of experience, Nishant likes to be precise with information. He is passionate about cricket, football, basketball, and chess, often writing about events and game analysis.

His favorite team is the Michigan Wolverines, and he thoroughly enjoyed their unbeaten season and championship win, especially when it culminated in Jim Harbaugh fulfilling his promise of getting a tattoo.

When he is not working or watching sports, Nishant likes to play football and write poetry. Wrapping everything in humor with relatable memes and defending his heart out on the football field is why he gets up every day.

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