My Two Cents: Race Thompson Isn't Perfect (Anymore), But He's Pretty Darn Good For Indiana

Race Thompson finally missed a shot on Wednesday after coming into the game on a 10-shot streak. He was still 7-for-9 from the field, and Indiana's productivity inside helped lead to another win, this time 79-61 over Northern Kentucky. Thompson just keeps getting better and better every game.

Tom Brew | Dec 23, 2021

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Two minutes and change into Indiana's game with Northern Kentucky on Wednesday night, Indiana forward Race Thompson flashed up to the elbow and found a gap in their zone defense. He took a pass from Anthony Leal and, wide open from 14 feet, turned and took a jump shot.

And missed!

The exclamation point isn't overdoing it because Thompson has literally been perfect lately. In Indiana's past two games — wins over Merrimack and Notre Dame — he was a perfect 10-for-10 from the floor. You have to go all the way back to the last minute of the Wisconsin game on Dec. 8 to find a Race Thompson miss.

He was approaching rarified air, chasing the school record of 14 in a row made by Juwan Morgan back in 2017. But the jumper missed, and the streak was over.

And what did Thompson do? Simply started another one. He made the rest of his first-half shots, all three of them, and made his first two shots of the second half. He finished 7-for-9 on the day — the only other miss was a three-pointer when the Hoosiers had a 24-point lead — and had 14 points.

Thompson has been really good lately. He's scored in double figures in six straight games, and he's the perfect compliment to fellow big man Trayce Jackson-Davis inside.

They play well together. "Buddy-ball'' is a real thing with the Hoosiers, and these two are doing big things. Thompson, a fifth-year senior from Plymouth, Minn., has taken his game up a notch this year.

"When I took this job, he was one of the first guys I sat down, and I told him what I expected,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "The fact that he had played a number of years in college, hey, expectations are high. You know, he's got to be held a lot higher from an accountability standpoint.

"I expect a lot from Race and Trayce, and Race, he's come through, man. I mean, he's doing a lot of wonderful things for this ballclub, things that some people thought he couldn't do when I got here, and he's gotten better because he's put in the work and that's a testament to him.''

it's a testament to both of them, really, because they do play off each other often. Indiana's first basket of the game came off a nice Thompson pass to Jackson-Davis inside. He returned the favor later on a nice no-look pass to Thompson for a dunk.

That kind of stuff happens a lot. There's good chemistry there.

"It's been great, and they know each other's movement inside, and they read each other really well,'' Woodson said of his big men. "I always talk about "buddy ball" with our bigs, and you know, they are really good buddies when it comes to playing buddy ball, especially inside the zone. So that's something that's got to continue.''

And the key to scoring inside is getting the ball in the right spots. Indiana's guards need to be better about that, though it is getting better.

Northern Kentucky forward David Bohm (13) dribbles the ball while Indian forward Race Thompson (25) defends (Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)

"I think the fact that we are delivering the ball to him in areas where he can be effective, that helps,'' Woodson said. "He's been working on his little floaters, his little jump shots and things of that nature. He's been so effective for us around the bucket, and we work on it every day in terms of delivering the ball down low to all our bigs, because that's where our strength as a team is.''

Thompson's only other miss was that second-half three. Woodson wanted him to develop more of an outside game, and he has given him the green light to shoot threes. It hasn't really been successful yet this year, though. Thompson is just 2-for-15 from deep, and hasn't made a three all month.

"He stepped out and shot a three tonight,'' Thompson said. "I don't mind him shooting threes. He's just got to get comfortable shooting them and making them.

"I'm just happy for him, man, because he's worked and, like I said, there were a lot of things when I got here that people said he couldn't do, and he's defeating all the odds. He's doing a lot of great things for our ballclub, he really is. He's comfortable in making plays around the rim. You saw that again tonight, so I can't praise him enough. He's just got to continue to work and hopefully he'll grow and get even better. I'm pleased with what he's done.''

Thompson is averaging 10.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and is shooting 60 percent from the field. Indiana is at its best when it plays inside-out, too, and the two big men are delivering. Thompson has shot 55 percent or better in six straight games, too.

Thompson, like many of his teammates, needed a major confidence boost when Woodson arrived. He was scarred from the Archie Miller era, too, and didn't have much faith in himself. Woodson's message from the beginning is to just play, to trust your skills and make a difference.

'Thompson is doing that.

Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (23) shoots the ball while Northern Kentucky forward Chris Brandon (21) and guard Sam Vinson (2) defend. (Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)

"At the beginning of the year, (Thompson) would be shy and not shoot and shoot shots, and Coach Woodson was like, 'You've got to do that. You've got to be a scorer for us,' '' Jackson-Davis said. "I think he took that to heart and he's been playing well ever since.

"I think Race is someone that just brings it every day. He's the glue guy. He's the glue of our team. He holds our team together. Even last year, you saw a few games where he was just relentless on the boards, and I think this year he's just doing more of that. He's just trying to attack the glass and just be more a complete player, honestly.''

During the preseason, Jackson-Davis told a story about his first meeting with Woodson, when his new coach convinced him to come back for another year. After he said he was staying, Woodson said, ''you're the captain.'' Who else should lead, Woodson asked.'

"Race.'' Jackson-Davis said immediately.

These two have provided a lot of veteran leadership, which has been critical with a new coach and six new players in the program, three of whom — Xavier Johnson, Miller Kopp and Parker Stewart — start along with Jackson-Davis and Thompson most every night.

"I think me and him complement each other very well,'' Jackson-Davis said. "We seem to always know where we're going to be on offense, and the double teams come from his guy and I'm able to hit him and he's vice-versa.

"But I think the biggest thing with both of us is we are unselfish and we pass out of the post, especially if we are doubled. I think it's really tough to prepare for because you never know. You try to take something away and then you have to counter another thing. Like you have got him, Anthony (Leal), Parker, Miller, guys like that shooting threes. So you can't prepare for both of us and stop both of us because we have so many pieces on our team.''

Indiana has one more nonconference game before the Big Ten season starts again on Jan. 2 at Penn State. The Hoosiers host UNC Asheville next week at Assembly Hall. They need to continue to fine-tune things, of course, but they've certainly proven so far that their big guys will lead this team.

However far it goes.

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