VALDOSTA — Leading the Lowndes girl’s basketball team with 13 points a game was an impressive feat that had many colleges looking at Krystal Thomas.

However, Thomas’s future school, Georgia Southwestern, will get much more than that when she suits up for its basketball team next season.

“They really got a steal in Krystal Thomas,” her uncle Abraham Clemons said. “I don’t think they know how lucky they are to get a person of that caliber.”

While the fact that she led the 22-6 Vikings to a Class AAAAA, Region 1 regular season co-championship says a lot about Thomas as a basketball player, it is the note on her refrigerator that says so much more about her as a person.

Prior to the start of the school year in August, Thomas wrote three things on a piece of paper and put it on the refrigerator to see every day before she left for school — make the homecoming court, graduate with honors and receive a full scholarship to college.

“I couldn’t believe that she made those goals for herself,” Krystal’s mom, Betty Thomas, said.

Signing a letter of intent to Georgia Southwestern on Thursday, Thomas crossed the final goal off her list, having achieved every major goal she set out to accomplish.

“She’s real goal-minded,” Clemons said. “She sets the goal and goes for it.

“She just has that good mind about her. She’s determined to do something, she does it.”

Thomas became a goal-oriented young woman thanks to the presence of an extended family.

Next to school and basketball, family is the biggest thing in Thomas’s life. It has helped her get through the toughest time a young person can encounter.

While in seventh grade, Thomas’s father, Elzie Thomas, passed away from diabetes and cancer. Family helped her gain strength and avoid extended suffering from the tragic event.

“After her dad died and when he was real sick, her thing was to have so much family around,” Clemons said. “A lot of uncles and aunts really stepped in and took Krystal under their wings”

Crystal and her mother went on vacations with Clemons and his family along with other aunts and uncles.

The family still keeps close ties; every weekend is a family gathering.

After the family goes to church on Sundays, Crystal and her mother, cousins, aunts and uncles travel to her grandmother’s house for Sunday dinner, spending time together until late in the afternoon.

“Her family played a big part in (recovering from her father’s death),” Betty said. “Her uncle stepped in and has been a big father figure for her.”

Betty has also played a big part in Krystal’s life as the two are as close as mother’s and daughter’s come.

“Her and her mother are real close,” Clemons said. “That really helped out. It made things a lot easier on her and her mother. That’s kind of rare these days.”

When Krystal made her visit to Georgia Southwestern, she made sure Betty was in tow and playing a big part in her decision.

“Me and my mom are very close,” Krystal said. “At the end of the season I was getting down because nothing was going my way.

“My mom told me, ‘to keep the faith, God is going to bring it to you eventually,’ and he did.”

Crystal has played basketball under her uncle for years on the Azalea City Eagles AAU team.

After her father had passed, Betty drove Crystal to Tallahassee twice a week for practice and then for games.

Clemons then started a team, allowing Krystal to play locally and keeping Betty from traveling so far for her daughter.

“He didn’t want us to travel to practice,” Betty said. “He stepped in when her dad died, and she hasn’t missed a beat.”

Krystal’s earlier basketball education led her to be a constant scoring threat and much more in her years with the Vikings.

“Offensively, she was our best player,” Lowndes coach Shan Garner said. “Her shot selection improved, her average didn’t go down, but her shooting percentage went way up.

“She learned to take shots in the flow of the offense.”

Garner said that Krystal will be able to step in right away for Georgia Southwestern, who will be playing its first season in Division II.

“She’s going to be a two or three there,” Garner said. “I’m pretty sure she’ll be a shooting guard.

“It depends on what they have coming back, but athletically Krystal is ready now.”