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'She's His Toughest Critic‘: The Basketball-Driven Mother-and-Son Bond That Fuels LSU's Cameron Thomas

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Leslie Thomas politely asks for forgiveness. Her voice is hoarse and scratchy. She’s been screaming and yelling for two straight hours from inside her Baton Rouge apartment.

She normally attends her son’s basketball games, but she didn’t make the haul here because of COVID-19. So instead, she barked at the television as her 19-year-old kid, Cameron, dropped 27 points in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday to help No. 8 seed LSU beat No. 9 seed St. Bonaventure, 76–61, at historic (and mostly empty) Assembly Hall.

The Tigers and their sensational freshman are onto the next round, which includes a Monday meeting with No.