Indiana Basketball: The emergence of Race Thompson

The Indiana basketball forward has had a long road to recovery, but has also been a major source of energy for the Hoosiers over the last couple of weeks.

“You’re just seeing the surface being scratched with how good Race can be,” Coach Archie Miller told IndyStar.

If you asked any Indiana fan, Indiana coach or family member of Thompson’s over the course of the last three months if Thompson would be a crucial member of the Indiana rotation during their late season push for an at-large bid, they wouldn’t believe you.

On Nov. 9, following their win against Montana State in which Thompson played four minutes in, he was diagnosed with a concussion that would keep him out of basketball activity all the way until February.

A four-star recruit in the 2018 recruiting class, Thompson decided to reclassify to the 2017 class and redshirt his first year, getting ready to be a solid contributor come 2018. After putting in all of that work and missing out on his senior year of high school, there was no probability of a return this season.

On the pregame Indiana basketball radio show before their matchup against Ohio State on Feb. 10, Thompson was able to fill the public in on just how bad this concussion was.

"“I couldn’t really go to class. I couldn’t do a lot of things. They didn’t want me to go to practice. I was kind of isolated, on my own…. I couldn’t be around (lights). I couldn’t be at Assembly Hall, I couldn’t be at the games because it would mess with my eyes. Sound would give me a headache like no other.”"

On Feb. 16, it was not only a homecoming for Thompson, a Minnesota native, as they traveled to take on the Golden Gophers, but it was his first game back since his concussion. He played seven minutes in the blowout loss, but showed flashes of the top-100 recruit that originally committed to Indiana.

Playing in two of the three games since, both double-digit minutes, Thompson is becoming a pivotal member of the rotation, bringing something that the Hoosiers have struggled with a lot of the season; toughness.

None was more telling than his 22 minutes against Wisconsin on Tuesday, grabbing seven rebounds while matched up against one of the best big men in the country in Ethan Happ.

Contesting shot after shot and making Happ work for every point he scored, Thompson limited Happ to just 13 points over the final 30 minutes, after scoring 10 in the first 10 minutes of the game. With more practice time and conditioning, Thompson continues to get better and better.

Ever since Thompson returned to practice in late January, Indiana’s intensity and toughness in games has returned from earlier this season. There may not be any correlation between the two, but it’s an interesting fact to point out.

Thompson and the Hoosiers take on No. 6 Michigan State this weekend, looking to get another needed win and continue to make a final push for the NCAA Tournament.