In the musty halls of West Los Angeles College, a familiar face
sauntered in Saturday.
Clad in a white Jordan tank top and basketball shorts drooping
below his knees, Dijon Thompson headed to the court to do battle
against Salvatori’s Squad in the Nike Los Angeles Pro-City
League.
Though Thompson’s team, Hank’s Team CTS, fell short
74-66, that this Bruin senior even is preparing for next season is
a testament to his growing maturity.
Over the course of the last three months Thompson has trodden an
uncertain path, ultimately concluding he should play out his final
year of college eligibility. After dabbling his fingers at the
Chicago Pre-Draft camp in June and receiving an evaluation on his
draft status, Thompson came back to Westwood knowing his best bet
would be to stay put.
“I’m happy coming back,” Thompson said.
“I received positive feedback and advice on how to improve.
It did nothing but help my game.”
Hank’s Team CTS coach Thaddeus McGrew seems to use one
adjective to describe Thompson’s decision to play out his
collegiate career ““ smart.
“The time will come for Dijon,” McGrew said.
“He’s shown the effort to want to improve in the areas
the NBA said he needed to. He has a stronger sense of the game and
a deeper hunger.
“He wants to make it.”
Over the course of this summer, Thompson has spent countless
hours improving on the very thing that should improve his stock
come next June ““ his body.
The 6-foot-7, 195-pound swingman has made major steps toward
building a bulkier physique.
“Don’t I look bigger?” said Thompson as he
posed. “I’ve been hitting it hard.”
The newly sculpted Thompson definitely has added some volume and
definition to his arms. In fact, hitting the gym everyday was what
Thompson credited for his 0-for-4 shooting performance in the first
half.
“I worked out yesterday,” Thompson said.
“I’m lifting hard. I haven’t really focused on
shooting. I’m trying to bulk up, and it’s taking a toll
on my shooting.
“But I’ll put them together, and it’s going to
come back. I promise you that.”
Thompson’s shot loosened up in the second half, as the
senior hit 5-for-8 from the field en route to scoring 13 points for
the game.
For the majority of the game Thompson was bodied by the likes of
Onye Ebekwe and Shawn Hawkins from Long Beach State, both of whom
outweigh Thompson by more than 25 pounds.
“Right now I’m playing big,” said Thompson,
who finished with eight rebounds, three coming on the offensive
end. “I have a lot of expectations put on me by coach (Ben)
Howland to play the three and crash boards.”
As the summer league comes to a close and with Hank’s Team
CTS eyeing to repeat its championship performance from a year ago,
one integral member’s absence has been noticeable.
Unlike Thompson, former Bruin Trevor Ariza, a second round draft
pick of the New York Knicks, decided to make a run at the NBA after
only finishing one collegiate year at UCLA. Despite having a
successful campaign as a freshman, averaging 11.6 points and 6.5
rebounds per game, Ariza opted to try to make it big as Thompson
elected to stay put to finish his career at UCLA and graduate with
a history degree.
McGrew never imagined the player’s decision would have
unfolded as it had.
“I actually thought Dijon was going to go to the NBA and
Trevor would be back,” McGrew said.
But, with Thompson deciding to take a different path than Ariza,
McGrew has carped on Thompson for his needing to improve his
consistency more than his body.
“He has the natural ability and the size,” McGrew
said. “It all depends on if he can show that he’s
consistent. If he does that, he can easily be one of the top
players.”
“For him, people want to see the best guy he can be out
there all the time.”
Besides hitting the gym and becoming more consistent, teams
during the NBA Draft Camp advised Thompson to improve on his
defense and add more arsenals to his offensive game.
The past three years have not been kind to Bruin fans who
expected bigger and better things. During the stretch, Thompson and
the Bruins have tallied a combined 42-48 record. But Thompson, who
is a projected starter for the upcoming season, has improved his
game each year, leading the Bruins in scoring for the last two
seasons. This past season he averaged just over 14 points a game
and was third in rebounding with more than four boards per
contest.
With his senior year approaching, Thompson’s days at
Redondo Union High School and his McDonald’s All-American
status may seem like a distant memory. But for Thompson, those
memories still stick.
“Seems like yesterday, just like yesterday,”
Thompson said. “I remember when I was a freshman playing
against Cincinnati. I’ve come a long way.”
Though the past three months definitely have had an impact on
his future plans, the Redondo Beach native has no regrets about his
decision.
Still, different decisions pan out differently for different
people.
For Thompson, he’s hoping his decision plays out the way
he envisions.