July 10, 2007 - Rider’s Thompson Takes on LeBron James
Related Articles:
- July 12, 2007 - Seth Davis - SI.com - Notes from LeBron's Skills Academy and Reebok U
- July 8, 2007 - College Hoop Blog: Good 'N Plenty / By: goodmanonfox
- July 6, 2007 - A big plus for Alley Oop / Jason Thompson has NBA dreams / By: STEVEN FALK
Rider’s Thompson Takes on LeBron James
Rider University’s Jason Thompson recently spent part of the summer between his junior and senior years at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio, where some of the best high school prospects in the nation attend and a group of elite college players are selected to help mentor through the weekend.
“We were counselors working with the kids,” said Thompson, a 6’10” forward who is coming off a 20 point, 10 rebound per game season. “We worked out hard, some days double sessions. They had individual workouts for the guards, workouts for the big men. It was good. And then we played pick-up.”
Thompson, a member of the CollegeInsider.com 2007 Mid-Major All-American team, was playing ‘pick-up’ games with All-Americans Drew Neitzel of Michigan State and Brook Lopez of Stanford, Scottie Reynolds of Villanova, Wesley Matthews of Marquette, Hasheem Thabeet of Connecticut, Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis and JaJuan Smith of Tennessee. Along with King James himself.
“A couple of guys on my team didn't want to guard LeBron, so I guarded him,” said Thompson, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the CollegeInsider.com 2007 Defensive All-American team. “I wanted to go at it with him. That was really fun playing with LeBron and those other great college players. In summer leagues in the past I’ve played against some NBA guys, but this was really fun. I was fortunate enough to play well. There was some really good talent there. I felt lucky to be invited to such a prestigious camp, so I wanted to do well and make the most of my opportunity, and I think I did.”
“Jason is getting an opportunity this summer to challenge himself against some of the best players in the country,” said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. “This is a big year for Jason and for our basketball team and we are doing everything we can do to make sure we are prepared for the upcoming season.”
“The national exposure was important for me,” Thompson said. “There were some scouts there, but that isn’t really what these camps are set up for. Mainly it is for us to get in some good workouts. Sometimes the players get distracted when there are all of these scouts out there watching them.”
Thompson, who enters his senior year with 1,346 career points, 11th highest ever at Rider, and 759 rebounds, sixth highest ever at Rider, also attended the Amare Stoudemire Basketball Camp in Arizona this summer. “That was more of a skills camp, mainly for big men,” Thompson said. Last season he ranked 10th in the nation in rebounding, 24th in scoring, 34th in blocks and 76th in field goal percentage.
“Out there I wasn’t playing against Mid-Major guys like I normally do,” Thompson said. “Playing with and against guys who normally play at a higher level will help me for the upcoming season, and for my future playing days after Rider.”
Many Rider graduates have traveled overseas to continue their basketball careers. Thompson certainly has a basketball career in his future, but not necessarily overseas. According to a report on FoxSports.com, “Thompson’s play was a shock to college coaches and NBA scouts in attendance. He wasted little time scoring over James and also was solid defensively on the NBA star.”
“It does not surprise me that Jason has played extremely well in these camps,” Dempsey said. “He can hold his own with players at any level.”
Even against King James himself.
-RU-
