Too undisciplined to put much stock in his defense or rebounding
his first three years at UCLA, Dijon Thompson has finally come of
age. No longer does the senior forward rely on his teammates to do
the dirty work. Instead, Thompson, the Pac-10’s
second-leading rebounder, is attacking the glass, playing tenacious
post defense and leading by example like a grizzled veteran should.
“It’s bad, but I really didn’t feel like I needed
to be the one to do it before,” Thompson said.
“I’ve always been an underclassman, and we’ve
always had seniors. So me being a senior and having four freshmen,
I feel that I have to do it now.” And he has. Thompson, who
averages a team-high 9.1 rebounds per game, has snared 16 rebounds
in a game twice this season and has already posted four
double-doubles. UCLA coach Ben Howland has also praised
Thompson’s post defense since the 6-foot-9, 206-pound
one-time shooting guard switched to the power forward position last
month. “That’s been a pleasant surprise considering
he’s never had to do it before,” Howland said.
“The thing I am most impressed with is his rebounding.
He’s doing a great job of getting in position, blocking out
and creating opportunities on the offensive glass.”
Thompson’s outlook changed this past spring after he made
himself eligible for the NBA Draft. Scouts stressed that unless he
became a better defender and rebounder, it was unlikely he would
ever make an impact at the professional level. “I’ve
matured in a lot of ways, and improved my game,” said
Thompson, who averaged 4.3 rebounds per game a year ago. “A
lot of people would tell you that they never expected to see me
rebound like this, but I always knew I had the potential to do
it.” There’s no denying that judging by the way
Thompson has played recently. He’s led UCLA in rebounding in
six of its past seven games including a 16-rebound performance
Thursday night against Washington State. That night, Thompson had a
rare off-shooting night, missing 9 of his 12 attempts, but atoned
for it with the other facets of his game ““ something he
admits he would not have done a year ago. “He has more of a
fire this year than last year,” senior Brian Morrison said.
“I knew he could play like this. He has taken the mental part
of his game to another level.” Thompson, a consensus
second-round pick last year, hopes NBA scouts take notice too. Nine
of them attended Thompson’s 29-point, nine-rebound
performance Saturday night against Washington, but the senior said
he only noticed former Los Angeles Lakers coach and current Miami
Heat scout Pat Riley behind the UCLA bench. The other eight scouts,
however, undoubtedly noticed him. “He’s clearly our
best player,” Howland said. “He’s doing a great
job.”
SHAKY DEFENSE: Howland had the team watch film
for more than an hour Monday in hopes of improving its half-court
defense after both Washington schools shredded the Bruins in the
first half this past weekend. Having allowed its four conference
opponents to shoot 49 percent from the field, UCLA is now ninth in
the Pac-10 in total defense. “That’s exactly where we
are as a team,” Howland said. “We will not continue to
win more than we lose if we don’t get better in that
area.”
VERY SUPERSTITIOUS: Don’t expect Morrison
to shave his week-old facial stubble anytime soon. The
superstitious senior guard, who has scored at least 15 points in
each of UCLA’s last three games, will not shave his beard
until his torrid outside shooting cools off. “Whatever
works,” Howland said. “He could grow an Abe Lincoln
beard as long as he keeps playing this well.”