"Manifesting a real thing": Arkansas signee Meleek Thomas reacts to throwback clip from his early high school days

Overtime Elite star Meleek Thomas is now a five-star basketball recruit named to play in the McDonald's All-American game on April 1. However, before moving to Atlanta, Georgia to play for OTE, he was a rising high school star for Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

On Thursday, the Arkansas Razorbacks signee shared a throwback Instagram story from an Instagram account (@brittysopretty), which showed him being asked where he saw himself in four years. This was asked in March 2022. Now, in 2025, he is one of the best players from the class of 2025.

Meleek Thomas shared a throwback story on Instagram (Source: Instagram/@meleek.thomas)

"Manifesting a real thing, along with work!!!" Thomas wrote in the caption.

While still playing for Lincoln Park, Thomas was a double-double machine, averaging 23.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 3.3 steals as a junior. He scored 1,750 points in his three years in Lincoln Park and won consecutive WPIAL and PIAA titles with the team.

When he decided to play for Overtime Elite, he surprised many. In Overtime Elite, he played for the City Reapers team, where he got schooled and played in a semi-professional league along with other players who aimed to play professionally. He gets paid via NIL to be still eligible for college.

Meleek Thomas leads City Reapers to victory with another double-double performance

Over at OTE, Meleek Thomas and his team, the City Reapers, are now 13-5 and second in the standings. The team has just come from a big bounceback win against RWE on Sunday, 77-67, and leading the way is none other than the future Razorback.

Thomas had another one of his signature double-double games with 17 points and 10 rebounds, along with five assists and one steal. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard now averages 26.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.9 steals this season while shooting 44%.

With a win against RWE, the City Reapers have bounced back from that tough loss against Eli Ellis and the first-place YNG Dreamerz on Dec. 25. Thomas had a valiant performance during that game, dropping 22 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal, but this was not enough to seal the victory as the City Reapers lost 103-90.