In his inaugural basketball season at Norfolk State University, Nic Thomas seemed content puttering along in the no-passing lane.

By sharp contrast, this year, Thomas seems to be racing on rocket fuel.

The 6-foot-2 junior guard has nearly doubled his scoring average and, not coincidentally, NSU has an eye on a long-overdue MEAC title.

It all started with a call from NSU Coach Robert Jones to Thomas’ cell phone in Arlington, Texas.

“Coach Jones called and offered me a scholarship,” Thomas said. “It was my chance to play Division I basketball.”

Thomas’ first season wearing green and gold might be described as OK. Starting in just five of 30 games, he averaged 8.5 points while shooting a lukewarm 32 percent from behind the arc.

With a year of on-the-job training, Thomas has improved this season to an average 15.0 points per game and 40 percent accuracy from the distance.

Not surprisingly, the Texan’s playing time has expanded from 20 minutes per game to 29 while starting 22 times.

“Confidence has a lot to do with it,” Thomas said. “Coach has given me the green light.”

When Thomas is hot, he’s hot. He has had five games scoring 20-plus points, with highs of 26 points against the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and Florida A&M University.

In the Jan. 26 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore, Thomas found the bottom of the Joe Echols Center nets on seven of 11 bonus attempts.

Fouling Thomas isn’t the best of ideas. He’s also striking 80 percent (83 for 104) from the foul line.

The road from Thomas’ home near the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium to Norfolk is a crooked and unusual one. First, he drew acclaim playing for a home-school team based in Dallas.

“It was like being in college. I took most of my classes and tests online,” Thomas said. “It was good competition. In Texas, the home schools play some of the larger public and private schools.”

Thomas averaged nearly 30 points as a senior and was named MVP of the national home-school tournament in Springfield, Mo. From there, he played one season at Howard College, a two-year school in Big Spring, Texas, before transferring to Houston Baptist University.

His tenure at Houston Baptist ended before it really began with a strange knee injury. “I had an extra bone growing out of the back of my knee,” he explained. “I had to have it taken out. That ended my season.”

He was understandably disillusioned. After leaving Houston Baptist and essentially becoming a free agent, he received the welcomed call from Coach Jones.

This season, the NSU Spartans have been on the upswing. The Spartans were 14-11 starting the week and atop the MEAC standings with a 9-1 conference record. The lone MEAC loss at Bethune-Cookman University on Feb. 9 took place when three players, including Thomas, were suspended for an altercation in NSU’s Feb. 2 victory over Howard University.

Last year, the Spartans were 14-19 overall and 11-5 in the MEAC. NSU has not won the MEAC Tournament since 2012. That was the same year the Spartans, seeded 15th in the NCAA Tournament, stunned No. 2 Missouri in the tournament’s first round in what was a national coming out party for center Kyle O’Quinn, who is now with the New York Knicks.

“I remember watching that game on television from back home,” Thomas recalled.

For NSU to reach the NCAAs, it must first win the MEAC Tournament taking place March 11 through 16 at the Norfolk Scope.

If the Spartans are to perform similarly this year like it did during the 2012 March Madness, then Thomas won’t be on the couch anymore. He’ll be in the driver’s seat.