A redshirt freshman this past season who was plagued with multiple different injuries throughout this past season, we still witnessed what Race Thompson is capable of in his limited time on the court.
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After redshirting his first season with the Indiana basketball program, Race Thompson had to wait a bit longer to see the court after suffering a groin injury right before the season started.
Hoosier fans caught their first glimpse of the 6-foot-8 forward from Minnesota, in action against Montana State, in which he scored his first career points in his debut.
A highly skilled forward, Thompson has been on the sidelines due to injury more than on the court so far in his young career.
Let’s take a look at Thompson’s season and what’s next for him.
2018-19 Season In Review
Injuries, injuries, injuries. That’s how to sum up Thompson’s season.
Diagnosed with a severe concussion only a couple of games into the season, Thompson could barely even sit through class, and spent a lot of his time away from the team.
Returning back to play in his home state of Minnesota on the road, after sitting out 22 games over four months, Thompson went on to play in six Big Ten games on the season.
Playing only seven minutes in his return, he chipped in two points, but it was his performance on the boards, in which he collected five rebounds, that impressed Indiana.
The following game against No. 21 Iowa, Thompson saw his minutes slightly increase and while he did not add to the scoreboard, he once again had a good showing on the glass, tallying four rebounds. His activity on physical play on the glass is something that he took pride in.
Race Thompson’s biggest game of the season came during the team’s 2OT home win over 19th ranked Wisconsin. He played 22 minutes and only scored one point, but his seven rebounds and defense on All Big-Ten selection Ethan Happ helped the team pull out the win.
After the Wisconsin game, Thompson’s minutes came back down to Earth as he averaged 3.8 minutes a game for the rest of the season, including an 11 minute performance against Illinois.
While his numbers do not necessarily jump off the page for the casual basketball fan, it was in the games against Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin that showed Hoosier fans what potential Race Thompson has and what we can expect to see from him in the future.
What’s Next?
Expect Race Thompson to have an increased role for the Indiana program next season as a result of the many player departures or player graduations.
Thompson’s length, rebounding, and defensive abilities will prove to be crucial on a relatively smaller team in the Big Ten.
Next season, Hoosier fans could see Race battle for a strong bench role or even start a couple of games depending on the opponent.
If he can develop his offensive skill set this off-season, he could be a crucial asset for the Hoosiers next season, a team that is desperately trying to expand their bench production from a season ago.