Top Performance Series: Ausar Thompson

Breaking down the explosive wing vs the YNG Dreamerz in mid November.

The idea behind the "Top Performance" series is to go back and watch the best (or one of the best) box score games of each prospect's season to see how they performed at their highest individual level, and what that might show us about their ceiling as a prospect.

This may not have been Ausar Thompson's absolute best 3-point shooting game (which is generally accepted as his make-or-break skill), but he did go 2-for-4 from behind the 3-point line.

What this game shows is that he had a very efficient game inside the 3-point line, along with some offensive creation, six assists, and defensive playmaking.

Offense

While there is lots of talk about Thompson being able to play on the ball more once he gets out of his brother's shadow, he seems to be much more of an off-ball offensive player.

Although he did attack a couple of times in isolation, he does not have the same creative handle and explosiveness in these situations. However, he is still an elite athlete who will give defenses fits when there is an advantage created for him while playing off the ball.

He has a more functional and practical handle that he can use when in transition, attacking a closeout, or any sort of scrambling, bent, and unsettled defense. Of course, it all comes down to one thing for the 6-foot-7 wing: being able to knock down catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts.

Overall, he is definitely a more willing shooter from the perimeter, and in this game, he had a very smooth-looking strong-side corner catch-and-shoot make.

That attempt immediately stood out as one that he has to be able to capitalize on to help maintain good overall spacing for his team and make defenses pay if they refuse to respect him.

Thompson also has all the other traits to be an elite off-ball player, as he can finish plays off cuts, transitions, offensive rebounds, and because he can handle and pass, there is versatility for other play types as well.

Defense

Similar to Amen on this end of the court, it really comes down to whether you want to buy into the positive or negative flashes. While this was a really good offensive game to watch for Ausar, it was not the best defensively.

Starting with the positives, Thompson does have smooth and fluid athleticism that seems to project well in terms of navigating screens both on and off the ball. As mentioned, his explosive athleticism is not quite the same as his brother's, but he still has enough to make some eye-popping recovery plays, whether closing out to the perimeter or trailing a play at the rim.

This entire athletic profile allows Thompson to be very disruptive on the defensive end of the floor, and he combines that with very aggressive and accurate hands, swiping down at the ball to provide plenty of playmaking on this end of the court.

The problem is that for every positive possession, there were more than an equal amount of negatives. Many people project Ausar to be the better defender of the brothers, but there were possession after possession in this game that would give one pause.

The inconsistent effort, lack of engagement off the ball, and random rotations come down to one of two things. Was Thompson simply young and bored, or are these truly part of his defensive profile?

Considering the environment he was playing in and the competitiveness level of the games, it is more than fair to believe that it was the former. However, these are still going to be habits he must break before becoming the truly impactful defender he is capable of.

Ceiling

No. 2 offensive option with secondary playmaking and versatile wing defender. 

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