January 4, 2007 - Jason Thompson Feature Article / Courier Post / By: Celeste E. Whittaker
Thompson helps Rider to rise up on the court
CELESTE E. WHITTAKER
Courier-Post Staff
Jason Thompson has the best of both worlds.
He's playing college basketball close to home and his younger brother Ryan is playing alongside of him. Rider University is 8-5, and two of those losses have come at the hands of Villanova University and No. 19-ranked Notre Dame.
"I think we've gotten off to a good start," said Thompson, a junior forward for Rider, who was a standout at Lenape High School. "We're a young, talented team. We had a good streak, a four-game winning streak. We did play two tough Big East opponents in Villanova and Notre Dame. We kind of struggled in the beginning of those games, got off to a slow start and couldn't finish it off.
"We got some big wins, one at home with Drexel. We're just trying to get back to our winning ways. Since we're in conference play, we're trying to be one of the top teams."
Thompson is one of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's top players. He leads the Broncs in scoring (18.9), rebounding, (9.4), blocks (2.1) and is second in field goal percentage (51.5 percent).
The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Thompson had 27 points and nine rebounds in a win over the University of Delaware on Nov. 21, added 24 points and 11 rebounds in the 89-81 overtime win over Drexel on Nov. 27 and had 29 points and 13 boards in a 67-66 loss to Monmouth on Nov. 30, but deems his play as "all right."
"I'm kind of struggling from outside, from the 3-point line, but I think as a team, we're playing pretty well and they're trying to get me the ball," Thompson said. "Our opponents have tried to clog the lane and force us to shoot outside. I think overall, I've been playing all right. I've been struggling here and there. My average has dropped. I'm just trying to stay more consistent, trying to be more dominant."
Thompson loves having the opportunity to play with his younger brother again. They played together at Lenape and were on the Group 4 state title team, which went an impressive 28-1 in 2003-2004. Thompson averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds as a senior that year.
Ryan, who's also starting, is contributing 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 32.8 minutes. Pleasantville graduate Kamron Warner is a reserve on the team, playing 8.1 minutes per night and chipping in 1.5 points.
"It's good," Thompson said of playing with his younger brother, who plays guard. "It's like old times. When I was a senior, he was a sophomore on the team that went 28-1 and won the Group 4 state title. He got a pretty good amount of minutes. It's like the same situation here. We play well together. Mostly every team we've played with has been a winning team, a championship caliber team. Hopefully, these next two years we can bring the same caliber of play.
"I never thought he was going to come to the same school as me. He definitely has an advantage. I can teach him some of the aspects of the game that freshmen don't get. Family and friends, we definitely get good crowds and good support coming to the home games and some of the away games."
Thompson said the win over Drexel gave the team a lot of confidence. Plus, the one-point loss to Monmouth could've gone either way.
"We had a tough loss against Monmouth at home at the buzzer," he said. "We know we're a talented team. We're one of the top teams in the MAAC. We need to take each game at a time and play 40 minutes on offense and defense."
JASON THOMPSON
Age: 20
Hometown: Mt. Laurel
College: Rider University
Pos: Forward
Ht/Wt: 6-10/245
Free throws: The Lenape High School graduate is a communications/TV radio major. . . . Second team All-MAAC selection last season after ranking second in blocks, fourth in rebounding and sixth in field goal percentage and seventh in scoring. . . . Averaging 18.9 points and 9.4 rebounds this season as a junior. . . . Averaged 16.6 points and 8.4 rebounds and shot 54.6 percent from the field in 27 games last season. . . . Averaged 9.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 27.7 minutes per game as a freshman when Rider went 19-11.
Quote: "I'm trying to work on my career with basketball after college which is, hopefully, the NBA. If that doesn't work out, maybe I'll play overseas," Thompson said. "Since I'm in the TV/radio track, I might try to become some type of anchor. Coaching is also good, too. I like coaching young kids. I just can't imagine it now, because I have my own coaches."
Reach Celeste E. Whittaker at cwhittaker@courierpostonline.com
Published: January 04. 2007 3:10AM
