Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics is a 5’9 point guard who plays with unflappable confidence and a huge chip on his shoulder. Most of his career he has been overlooked. He was the last pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, but is now in the ranks of the top point guards in the Eastern Conference.

Currently, Thomas is averaging 29.5 PPG, second to only Russell Westbrook (31.2 PPG), 6.2 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per contest. He is a crafty scorer that puts pressure on bigs with his driving prowess and ability to draw fouls (9 FTA per game). He’s deadly as a pick and roll ball handler, probing the seams until he finds his spot for a pull-up jumper, or a dump off to a rolling big man. He also can drain three-pointers at a high clip (38%) and has been nicknamed ‘Mr. 4th Quarter’ for his knack for scoring in bunches during crunch time.

Thomas’ meteoric rise to stardom may be inspiring basketball’s next generation of undersized guards, including Central Michigan’s star point guard Marcus Keene. Keene is a Jr. transfer from Youngstown State, He is currently the NCAA’s leading scorer, averaging 29.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. He’s also the same height as Thomas, but that’s only where the similarity begins. Keene takes the court with supreme confidence and swagger, and his play style is nearly identical to Thomas, he works the pick and roll with the savvy of a veteran, he also is good at driving to the rack and drawing fouls (8 FTA per game). He needs to improve as a passer, but his ability to break defenders down in one on one situations creates passing lanes for him. His ability to light it up on a nightly basis is electrifying, this season alone he has had 9 games where he’s scored 30 or more points, five games with 40 or more, and one 50-point showing.

Keene is a junior transfer from Youngstown State. He is currently the NCAA’s leading scorer, averaging 29.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. He’s also the same height as Thomas, but that’s only where the similarity begins. Keene takes the court with supreme confidence and swagger, and his play style is nearly identical to Thomas. He works the pick and roll with the savvy of a veteran, he also is good at driving to the rack and drawing fouls (8 FTA per game). He needs to improve as a passer, but his ability to break defenders down in one-on-one situations creates passing lanes for him. His ability to light it up on a nightly basis is electrifying. This season alone he has had 9 games where he’s scored 30 or more points, five games with 40 or more, and one 50-point showing.

Despite the gaudy numbers, it is nearly impossible to find Keene on any draft boards for the upcoming NBA Draft, as was the case with Thomas in 2011. Major sports sites such as ESPN, Draft Express, and Bleacher Report all have Keene slated to go late in the second round or possibly undrafted. This isn’t much of a surprise, though, as his measurables don’t exactly jump off of the page; 5’9, 175 pounds, playing on a .500 team in a mid-major D1 conference. He also will be 22 years old by the time the NBA Draft rolls around, the same age as IT when he was selected by the Kings with the last pick six years ago.

Age is a significant factor when general managers look at a player’s potential impact during their career. But that should not deter Keene, it’s standard NBA protocol for General Managers to undervalue an undersized player, especially if he comes from a small school. There is a chance, that much like the Kings did six years ago, an NBA team will take Keene with a late second-round pick, taking a small risk with the chance of a great reward if he can blossom into anything close to Isaiah Thomas. Much like Thomas, his height limits his defensive ability. In my opinion, it would be best for Keene to be surrounded by perimeter defensive stalwarts at the next level, allowing him to focus on being an offensive spark plug.

I don’t think that Marcus Keene has to reach Isaiah Thomas’ level for his career to be considered a success. If he has a consistent career as a scorer off of the bench his value would be recognized, more like a Nate Robinson (11 PPG career average). But his potential cannot be quantified by any scout or general manager. no one predicted that Isaiah Thomas would average nearly 30 points and be a dark-horse MVP candidate, that’s simply not what 5’9 second-round picks do. But he’s doing it. Marcus Keene could very well be the next diamond in the rough when it’s all said and done, and he can thank IT for kicking down that door for the little guys with big games and huge hearts.