Indiana University Athletics
DIPRIMIO: Motivation Matters – ‘Transformed’ Race Thompson Making An Impact
12/8/2020 12:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Race Thompson is ready to dictate.
Were you expecting this?
Was anyone outside of Cream and Crimson basketball circles?
Indiana's junior forward showcased in three Maui Invitational games why he can be a difference maker of the highest level.
That could be a huge boost Wednesday night, when the Hoosiers (3-1) play at No. 21/22 Florida State (1-0) as part of the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Forget the bull-like reputation from previous seasons boosted by an impressively athletic family (two college football players, two college volleyball players, one NFL player). The 6-8, 228-pound Thompson can deliver versatility as never before.
Case in point -- he leads the Hoosiers in shooting (60.7 percent), rebounding (7.5), blocks (eight) and steals (five). He's third in scoring (11.5) behind forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (21.5) and guard Aljami Durham (12.0).
Yes, it's only a four-game sample size, but it shows the work Thompson has put in to expand his game.
"I would say I've always been one of the tougher people with the family I grew up in," he says. "It was being pushed all the time.
"(Being physical) is part of my game, but not the only part. I will continue to grow my game."
Thompson has made the most of playing opportunity from the absence of center Joey Brunk, who has missed the first four games with a sore back.
The Maui Invitational (played in North Carolina because of the pandemic) was a nationally televised stage for that. He played at least 31 minutes against Providence, No. 17 Texas and Stanford.
Thompson had his first career double-double with a 22-point, 13-rebound effort against Providence. Both of those totals were career highs. He rocked Stanford for 15 points (6-for-7 shooting), eight rebounds, four blocks and three assists.
As for his career-best 60.7-percent shooting, consider this is a guy who shot 46 percent from the field in his first two seasons, and driven to do much better.
"I want to be able to knock down open shots," he says. "I'm not one to force anything. Just make winning plays and take open shots."
While Thompson will never confuse anyone with, say, Durham, as a 3-point shooting threat, he's worked on it enough for defenses to pay attention when he goes beyond the arc.
So far this season, he's 1-for-2 after going 3-for-13 in his first two years.
"I worked on my shot every day during quarantine," he says. "It's something I want to bring to the table, and continue to do the dirty work. I want to be a bigger part of the offense, in general."
Bigger won't lead Thompson to hunt shots.
"I'm not too worried about scoring. I'm one of those people who just wants to get the win. That's what I'm here for."
Thompson's success isn't a surprise given his family background. His father, Darrell, was a standout running back at Minnesota, who left as the school's all-time leading rusher before being drafted in the first round by the Green Bay Packers. His mother, Stephanie, played volleyball at Iowa.
Older sister Dominique was at All-American volleyball player at Wisconsin. Another sister, Indigo, plays volleyball at San Diego State. His brother, True, plays football at Minnesota.
The result -- Race Thompson understands what hard work can do. Few Hoosiers took better advantage of basketball director of athletic performance Clif Marshall's training program than Thompson, and the results are obvious far beyond his improved physique.
"I'm faster, stronger and jumping higher than I ever have in my life," Thompson says. "That's due to working out on and off the court. I am doing a lot of things now I haven't done in the past."
Miller has noticed.
"He's a very motivated player. I thought that he finished last season basically as a starter and he used his off-season as well as any player I've ever been around. He transformed his body. He worked on his game.
"You can tell by his touch, his offense confidence. He's much more offensively confident. That started to spirit him a little bit in terms of being more vocal and also being unquestionably one of our rock solid leaders.
"His emergence, to me, is one of the special things about this off-season and just watching him get a little bit of reward for what he did.
"He's going to play a major role on both ends of the floor."
Thompson makes a potent inside combination with Jackson-Davis.
"We play hard day in, day out," Thompson says. "We push each other every day. We both are versatile. We worked on our jump shots all summer long. Playing inside and out with each other will be a big bonus."
Adds Jackson-Davis: "Race is a big energy guy. He makes the hustle plays. He and I play well together at the 4 (power forward) and 5 (center) because we're both versatile players. We get out in transition more. Our tempo goes up tremendously because we both move really well."
Jackson-Davis earned his first Big Ten player of the week award for his impressive Maui Invitational showing. He averaged 20.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in victories over Providence and Stanford, and a loss to Texas.
IU got plenty of other strong performances in the event.
"We got two really good wins," Miller told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during Monday night's radio show. "Our team responded well (from the loss to Texas). We got two wins against Power 5 Conference teams. We're happy about that. Then you reset your battery. It takes a few days to get back in order."
Now the focus is on a deep, talented Florida State team, the defending ACC champs, that has won 65 of its last 68 home games.
It used 12 players -- including 7-foot Tanor Ngom and 7-1 Balsa Koprivica -- in last week's 28-point win over North Florida.
Koprivica had 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks.
"I'm glad we had more than a few days to prepare for them," Miller told Fischer. "They take you out of everything you do. They come at you in waves.
"Their defense is unorthodox. They don't stop. They keep coming and wear you down and try to break you.
"We have to be super organized. Texas was a physical team. This team is times two in terms of difficulty."
Were you expecting this?
Was anyone outside of Cream and Crimson basketball circles?
Indiana's junior forward showcased in three Maui Invitational games why he can be a difference maker of the highest level.
That could be a huge boost Wednesday night, when the Hoosiers (3-1) play at No. 21/22 Florida State (1-0) as part of the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Forget the bull-like reputation from previous seasons boosted by an impressively athletic family (two college football players, two college volleyball players, one NFL player). The 6-8, 228-pound Thompson can deliver versatility as never before.
Case in point -- he leads the Hoosiers in shooting (60.7 percent), rebounding (7.5), blocks (eight) and steals (five). He's third in scoring (11.5) behind forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (21.5) and guard Aljami Durham (12.0).
Yes, it's only a four-game sample size, but it shows the work Thompson has put in to expand his game.
"I would say I've always been one of the tougher people with the family I grew up in," he says. "It was being pushed all the time.
"(Being physical) is part of my game, but not the only part. I will continue to grow my game."
Thompson has made the most of playing opportunity from the absence of center Joey Brunk, who has missed the first four games with a sore back.
The Maui Invitational (played in North Carolina because of the pandemic) was a nationally televised stage for that. He played at least 31 minutes against Providence, No. 17 Texas and Stanford.
Thompson had his first career double-double with a 22-point, 13-rebound effort against Providence. Both of those totals were career highs. He rocked Stanford for 15 points (6-for-7 shooting), eight rebounds, four blocks and three assists.
As for his career-best 60.7-percent shooting, consider this is a guy who shot 46 percent from the field in his first two seasons, and driven to do much better.
"I want to be able to knock down open shots," he says. "I'm not one to force anything. Just make winning plays and take open shots."
While Thompson will never confuse anyone with, say, Durham, as a 3-point shooting threat, he's worked on it enough for defenses to pay attention when he goes beyond the arc.
So far this season, he's 1-for-2 after going 3-for-13 in his first two years.
"I worked on my shot every day during quarantine," he says. "It's something I want to bring to the table, and continue to do the dirty work. I want to be a bigger part of the offense, in general."
Bigger won't lead Thompson to hunt shots.
"I'm not too worried about scoring. I'm one of those people who just wants to get the win. That's what I'm here for."
Thompson's success isn't a surprise given his family background. His father, Darrell, was a standout running back at Minnesota, who left as the school's all-time leading rusher before being drafted in the first round by the Green Bay Packers. His mother, Stephanie, played volleyball at Iowa.
Older sister Dominique was at All-American volleyball player at Wisconsin. Another sister, Indigo, plays volleyball at San Diego State. His brother, True, plays football at Minnesota.
The result -- Race Thompson understands what hard work can do. Few Hoosiers took better advantage of basketball director of athletic performance Clif Marshall's training program than Thompson, and the results are obvious far beyond his improved physique.
"I'm faster, stronger and jumping higher than I ever have in my life," Thompson says. "That's due to working out on and off the court. I am doing a lot of things now I haven't done in the past."
Miller has noticed.
"He's a very motivated player. I thought that he finished last season basically as a starter and he used his off-season as well as any player I've ever been around. He transformed his body. He worked on his game.
"You can tell by his touch, his offense confidence. He's much more offensively confident. That started to spirit him a little bit in terms of being more vocal and also being unquestionably one of our rock solid leaders.
"His emergence, to me, is one of the special things about this off-season and just watching him get a little bit of reward for what he did.
"He's going to play a major role on both ends of the floor."
Thompson makes a potent inside combination with Jackson-Davis.
"We play hard day in, day out," Thompson says. "We push each other every day. We both are versatile. We worked on our jump shots all summer long. Playing inside and out with each other will be a big bonus."
Adds Jackson-Davis: "Race is a big energy guy. He makes the hustle plays. He and I play well together at the 4 (power forward) and 5 (center) because we're both versatile players. We get out in transition more. Our tempo goes up tremendously because we both move really well."
Jackson-Davis earned his first Big Ten player of the week award for his impressive Maui Invitational showing. He averaged 20.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in victories over Providence and Stanford, and a loss to Texas.
IU got plenty of other strong performances in the event.
"We got two really good wins," Miller told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during Monday night's radio show. "Our team responded well (from the loss to Texas). We got two wins against Power 5 Conference teams. We're happy about that. Then you reset your battery. It takes a few days to get back in order."
Now the focus is on a deep, talented Florida State team, the defending ACC champs, that has won 65 of its last 68 home games.
It used 12 players -- including 7-foot Tanor Ngom and 7-1 Balsa Koprivica -- in last week's 28-point win over North Florida.
Koprivica had 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks.
"I'm glad we had more than a few days to prepare for them," Miller told Fischer. "They take you out of everything you do. They come at you in waves.
"Their defense is unorthodox. They don't stop. They keep coming and wear you down and try to break you.
"We have to be super organized. Texas was a physical team. This team is times two in terms of difficulty."
Players Mentioned
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
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Forward
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Forward
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