New Oxford, Pa., is a picturesque city of 1,800 between York and Gettysburg known for its rolling farmlands and antique shops.
Lately, a Florida basketball player has put this small Southeast Pennsylvania town on the map.
Florida Gators sophomore forward Thomas Haugh was shaped by his small-town roots in New Oxford. Before sinking clutch 3-pointers in the Elite Eight as a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward at UF, Haugh was making those same shots in middle school in his backyard driveaway and at a makeshift basketball court inside his uncle’s barn on the outskirts of town.
“Everybody knew everybody,” Haugh said. “I went to school with my really good group of friends, grew up with them, hung out with them all the time. So just being in that environment kind of shaped me, who I am now, and kind of like the rough, kind-of-go-do-whatever-you-need-me-to-do kind of kid.”
Haugh has helped lead UF to its first Final Four since 2014, averaging 9.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a high-energy, highly skilled sixth man. He’s been even better in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 13.3 points and 7.5 rebounds while scoring in double figures in three of four games.
As a result, a New Oxford town that normally roots for Penn State football has adopted Florida basketball throughout March Madness. Watch parties for Haugh have taken place at local establishments and will again when Florida (34-4) faces Auburn (32-5) in the Final Four at the Alamodome on Saturday night (6:09 p.m. CBS)
“This whole community is just beaming with pride, supporting the Florida Gators,” Haugh’s former New Oxford High basketball coach, Nate Myers told the Gainesville Sun. “Especially when it comes to basketball, seeing that New Oxford up there on the screen. A lot of pride here.”
Florida basketball forward Thomas Haugh sparked New Oxford HS playoff run
One of Haugh’s closest friends in New Oxford is Adbul Janneh, a former Georgia Tech wide receiver who is preparing for the NFL Draft this month. Janneh, Haugh and Slippery Rock (Pa.) University quarterback Brayden Long, a Division II All-American, were part of a New Oxford High team that made a deep run in the 2020 5A high school playoffs before the rest of the tournament was canceled due to COVID.
“Tommy was one of the guys, he was doing all the dirty work, getting the boards, second-chance points,” Janneh said in an interview with The Sun. “He was that glue guy that was willing to do those type of things and help everyone else sort of succeed and when his time came to hit those big shots, he did exactly that.”
Janneh and Haugh first became friends in grade school and were baby sat together by older relatives. There were plenty of one-on-one basketball games in Haugh’s backyard driveaway and at the court inside the barn.
“We used to have a group come together and just go there and get a couple of quick pickup games going on,” Janneh said. “Tommy especially used to be there all the time just working on his game, too, by himself, and get his shots up.”
Haugh had sprouted to 6-foot-7 by his sophomore year in high school and was continuing to round out his game. The high motor that Haugh has displayed at Florida was first evident at New Oxford.
“You never had to question his effort and determination,” Myers said. “He was always going to give you the best version of Thomas Haugh.”
Janneh attended Florida’s game against Arizona State at State Farm Arena in Atlanta last December to watch him play in person and visit with him. He found himself screaming at the TV screen and pulling for the Gators during their late rally against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight.
“He was hoopin’ early on and that last three minutes, he just went crazy,” Janneh said. “I wouldn’t even say the 3s, but getting some of those like, offensive boards and getting those second chance points, without Tommy I don’t know if they win that game, and everything he did for him that game shows exactly what type of player he is, what type of teammate he is.”
Thomas Haugh’s path from New Oxford to Florida basketball
Haugh left New Oxford High in 2021 to spend the next three years at Perkiomen School, a prep school in Pennsburg, Pa., between Allentown and Philadelphia. There, Haugh continued to develop into a Division I basketball recruit.
“That’s when I started to focus just solely on basketball,” Haugh said. “So, when I went there, Coach (Thomas Baudinet) and those guys up there just did a great job of developing me and seeing what I was going to be for college.”
Haugh had an offer from Georgia Tech and could have joined his high school friend, Janneh. But Haugh grew up a Gators fan with Tim Tebow posters on his wall.
So, when newly hired Florida basketball coach Todd Golden offered Haugh a scholarship in the summer of 2022, it was an easy sell. Haugh committed two days after the offer.
After showing promise as a freshman, averaging 3.9 points and 3.7 points, Haugh has taken his game up a notch as a sophomore. He’s improved both his 3-point shooting (from 25.5% as a freshman to 35.1% as a sophomore) and free throw shooting (from 45.7% as a freshman to 81.0% as sophomore). More importantly, Haugh is continuing to throw his body around and make winning plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet.
“The first thing that comes to mind with Thomas is how hard he plays,” Florida senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr. said. “I’ve been saying that since he got here. Last year, he was kind of just running around, didn’t know what to do. But he was going 110%, so I was fine with it and I always thought that once he got it down, knowing everything how he has this year, he was going be a great player. And he has been.”
Along the way, Haugh hasn’t forgotten his roots. Last summer, Haugh returned to New Oxford to visit family and attended the town’s grade school basketball camp. He signed autographs and took pictures with campers, while holding a question-and-answer session.
“As great a basketball player he is, he’s even a better person,” Myers said. “He’s quite a young man.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Small town wonder: How New Oxford shaped Florida basketball forward Thomas Haugh
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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