December 10, 2006 - Thompsons perform brother act at Rider - Burlington County Times - By: Tom Rimback
Thompsons perform brother act at Rider
By: TOM RIMBACK (Sun, Dec/10/2006)
LAWRENCEVILLE — During his visits to Lenape High School, Tommy Dempsey thought he was recruiting a raw, talented high school center for Rider University coach Don Harnum. Dempsey didn't realize he was actually building the foundation of his own Division 1 basketball team.
At the time, Dempsey was a hot-shot assistant coach with a strong head coaching record at the junior college level. Jason Thompson was the 6-foot-10 man in the middle of the best team in Lenape's history. Ryan Thompson was a gangly sophomore fighting for minutes on what would become an undefeated Group 4 championship team.
“I remember sitting in the gym during Jason's senior year after he had already committed to us,” Dempsey said. “Ryan was a sophomore and just starting to get a little time. He was a scrawny 6-2, 14-year-old kid. I remember turning to coach Harnum and saying we'll be back in this gym in two years. Coach Harnum said: “You think?” I could just tell that he had all the right instincts.”
Three years later, Dempsey is in his first season as head coach after taking over as interim coach when Harnum was moved into the athletic director's position after the 2005 season. Ryan Thompson — at 6-5 is a precocious freshman guard in the Broncs' starting lineup. Jason Thompson is still in the middle, one of the best players in the Metro Atlantic athletic conference as a junior.
“It's great having Ryan here,” Jason said. “It's just like old time, high school. It was a great year, my senior year. It's good to have him as part of the Rider team. Hopefully, we can have some more success.”
Nine games into the season, the Broncs are more than a month ahead of last season's pace with a 6-3 record. Jason leads the team at 20.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Ryan, who has been in the starting lineup since the second game of the season, averages 9.3 points and 4.9 rebounds, fourth- and third-best respectively in those categories.
“The game is physical and it's faster,” Ryan said. “I'm trying to progress. I have to take it one step at a time. I'm not trying to do things all at once. I need to start doing things all game, not just doing stuff different in the second half. I have to be prepared to play the whole game.”
A fairly polished high school player, Ryan had the advantage of playing with and against most of his current teammates in informal situations. Thanks to Jason, the younger Thompson had a much smoother transition to the college game than most freshmen.
“It's definitely to his advantage to have me around and know some of the other players,” Jason said. “I can tell him some of the things I didn't know when I got here as a freshman. He knows more of the game than I did at the same point in time. He's doing really well but he has to learn to be more consistent. You can't just have a good second half at this level. You have to play well throughout the game. He's playing confidently but there are always times when freshmen play like freshmen.”
Jason has worked through the consistency hurdle and become one of the country's best big men. He's already been named to two All-MAAC teams and competed with the MAAC All Stars in China after the 2005 season. Wherever his basketball talents take him, he'll always have a future as a recruiter.
“We're having fun,” Jason said. “Every time we play together, we win. We're doing that right now. Hopefully we can keep that streak going.”
Jason made an immediate impact as a recruiter with his younger brother. Then again, after seeing how much fun Jason has on the court, Rider wasn't a tough sell.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Ryan said. “I would come up to see Jason play or hang around with him or come watch MAAC-Madness (which celebrates the opening of the season) and I would see myself in it. I was always watching and thinking I would love to be there. I love the campus and the people.”
E-mail: TOM RIMBACK
