TOLEDO, Ohio —
Melvin Thomas, 27, was a well known private basketball coach for kids in the area. In the hours since his death at the intersection of Elm and Hudson in North Toledo, news of his passing spread to friends and co-workers, leaving them in shock.
"I didn't believe it. Gut wrenching," his former basketball coach Dave McWhinnie said.
"I mean I'm still processing. I'm still in disbelief," Thomas' friend, Lionel Armstead, a coach at Emmanuel Christian, said.
"Maybe a different Melvin, maybe a mistake," Garshawn Paynther, a former teammate, said.
It's the end of a life that was defined by success and service.
Thomas, a 2013 Toledo Christian graduate, was a former star basketball player at the school, leading the Eagles in a strong senior season.
"Just a phenomenal teammate, phenomenal young man. Just brought a smile to everyone's face," McWhinnie said.
But he is most known in the community as a private basketball coach, spending his time developing young athletes in northwest Ohio from any walk of life.
"He didn't care if you were the top in your class. He didn't care if you wanted to ball. He would take you to this gym and he would love you, he would kill you, he would mentor you, and I think that's what made him special," Paynther said.
It's a mission he started following in the footsteps of his father, Big Melvin, also a longtime coach who passed away two years ago. To build on that legacy, Thomas Jr. built a brand called Focus 3D, putting an emphasis on teaching kids in the inner city to turn to sports instead of drugs and violence.
Friends of Thomas say they don't intend to let that work end with him.
"We have to do what we can to keep that going, and the kids--obviously they lost Melvin as well as everyone else, but we have to make sure they don't get lost in the shuffle. We have to take care of them," Armstead said.
Everyone who knew him says in the short time he was here, his mentorship left an impact on students, parents and staff that will last a lifetime.
Paynther said his passing left "a hole in this community. That's a huge hole to fill."
While coach McWhinnie said it's too soon for details, he says Toledo Christian intends to find a way to honor him.
McWhinnie also said that kind of impact and heart for kids is rarely seen, and deserves to be remembered forever.