Stanford basketball's Jaylen Thompson putting college basketball world on notice

Watch out world, Jaylen Thompson has arrived.
Feb 20, 2021; Pullman, Washington, USA; A ball drops through the net during the Stanford Cardinal at Washington State Cougars men   s basketball game in the first half at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images
Feb 20, 2021; Pullman, Washington, USA; A ball drops through the net during the Stanford Cardinal at Washington State Cougars men s basketball game in the first half at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images / James Snook-Imagn Images
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It might be finally time to uncage the beast that is Jaylen Thompson. Once one of the nation’s most highly touted prospects, Thompson has been waiting the better part of two years to make a name for himself in college basketball. But, with a new era of Stanford Cardinal basketball now in place, Thompson’s time to shine may be upon us.

Redshirting his true freshman season in 2022-23 and playing sparingly as a reserve last year, Thompson has not yet been able to show off his full potential and has worked tirelessly to earn a bigger role this year, not only going into this year extra hungry, but using what he learned from watching from the bench and incorporating it into his own game so he can improve.

“It’s motivational,” Thompson said of limited role his first two years. “You definitely want to get on the court. It’s not easy sitting. Even last year dealing with injuries and stuff and not being able to practice for like two months, so there is definitely a motivational factor towards it. And I don’t know, just keep myself hungry.”

In the mix to become a key player for this season’s Cardinal squad, Thompson’s primary focus in the offseason was not necessarily working on anything in particular, but fine tuning what he is already good at so that he can play at a high level in all situations at all times.

“Just being consistent,” Thompson said. “Making plays on defense and working on my three point shot.”

Playing under former head coach Jerod Haase last season, Thompson has had to adjust to the new coaching style of current head coach Kyle Smith, but from his experiences with him so far, he is loving the culture that Smith has been able to implement.

“How real he keeps it with you [and] giving you constructive feedback,” Thompson said. “If you’re not doing well, he’s not gonna sugarcoat anything, he’s gonna keep it real with you. That’s something that I appreciate about him.”

Smith uses a concept called ‘nerd ball,’ a completely different system than what the team was accustomed to under Haase, and Thompson notices that the biggest difference between Haase and Smith is the incorporation of more numbers which in turn leads to more focus on the little details.

“Analytical wise, in addition to the little things, has been big,” Thompson said. “It makes you think about your game a little more. Like, ‘I’m not doing as good in this’ or ‘I need to pick up on this’ or ‘I’ve been really good on this.’ Those little details have been a little bit different.”

Thompson is no stranger to playing against big name basketball teams, spending his final two seasons in high school playing at Southern California Academy, and is excited to be in the ACC where he will get the chance to play against teams like North Carolina, Duke and Miami. While he was unsure of what to make of the travel situation, he is happy that him and his team will get to play in new places.

“That was big,” Thompson said. “Definitely going to be exciting to play these big games, play against these really good teams. I don’t know about the travel yet, but it’s exciting for sure.”

Academically, Thompson enrolled at Stanford without declaring a major, spending the entirety of his freshman and sophomore year figuring that out, but over the summer, Thompson decided what he wanted to pursue, choosing to major in Science, Technology and Society and is excited to dive deeper into the classes that are on his schedule for this quarter.

“I’m taking a construction and design class right now making 3D models for houses and different types of buildings,” Thompson said. “I thought that it has been a pretty cool class that I’ve been taking. That’s probably the most interesting class that I am in. I’m also in an entrepreneurship class, me and Jaylen Blakes are actually in that class together.”


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