HARRISBURG, Pa. — As the doors swung open to the main entrance at Central Dauphin High School, a line of smiling faces awaited Alyssa Thomas. Family, coaches, administrators and friends eagerly gathered on a summer afternoon to welcome back the most accomplished women’s basketball player from Pennsylvania’s state capital.

It was Thomas’s first visit in many months to her home town, where the 6-foot-2 forward left Central Dauphin as its all-time scoring leader, boys or girls, and continued her ascent at Maryland by becoming the first in school history to be named ACC player of the year twice.

With the regular season set to begin Friday, the senior has been named an Associated Press preseason all-American and is on the short list for national player of the year honors. That designation also would be a first for the Terrapins, who are ranked No. 8 in the AP poll with a roster that’s the deepest since Coach Brenda Frese arrived a dozen years ago.

Frese has called Thomas “a once in a lifetime” player, and statistics suggest that isn’t mere hyperbole. Last year, with Maryland’s roster severely depleted following a rash of injuries, Thomas shared point guard duties while becoming the only player in NCAA history to average 18.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in a single season.

That versatility took root long before she set foot in College Park and even before Thomas made an immediate splash in high school.

“Let’s face it: Alyssa was special from the day that she walked in here,” said Scott Singer, a strength and conditioning coach at Central Dauphin who has worked extensively with Thomas since her first year of high school. “In fact, a lot of the girls like to tell the story that they kind of had to go to her and say: ‘Hey, you are the best. Yes, you’re just a freshman, but you are the best player on the team. It’s okay for you take over.’ ”

Soon after arriving in College Park in 2010, Thomas requested to wear No. 25, the same number worn by Marissa Coleman, who is second in career points at Maryland and was a starter on the Terrapins’ 2006 national championship team. Thomas needs 515 points to surpass Coleman and 557 points to overcome Crystal Langhorne, also a starter on the NCAA title team, as Maryland’s all-time scoring leader.

Coleman “told me if I’m messing up, she’s going to take the number back from me,” Thomas said.

‘She knew all five positions’

The dearth of social distractions in Harrisburg — a city of about 50,000, which is only about 10,000 more than the total student population at Maryland — accommodated Thomas’s busy basketball schedule. There was Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar, where Thomas eats chicken wings when she visits home. Nearby is a Sheetz convenience store, where Thomas would go for snacks.

“There’s also a Subway down the street. That’s about it,” she said.

When she wasn’t at the gym, Thomas would play one-on-one in the asphalt driveway against her younger brother, Devin, a member of the ACC all-freshman team at Wake Forest last season. So heated was the competition that Alyssa and Devin occasionally attempted to settle their differences by wrestling on the front lawn.