When junior forward Hollis Thompson declared for the NBA draft last spring, Georgetown basketball fans could have been forgiven for a brief moment of panic. The 6-foot-7 forward was impressive in his first two years on the Hilltop and had been penciled in by many as one of the leaders and primary scorers for the 2011-2012 Hoyas with Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Julian Vaughn set to graduate. Thankfully for the Hoya faithful, Thompson ultimately elected to return for his junior season and is poised to play a bigger role than he did last year when he started 22 games and was fourth on the team in minutes played.
“It was a great memory, [and] I learned a lot,” Thompson said. “I figured it would be the last time I could test the waters [of the NBA draft], so I wanted to take advantage of that opportunity. … I got some pretty good feedback as far as where my game was, what they wanted to see from me and how I should improve over the rest of my collegecareer.”
Thompson, an accomplished long-range shooter who connected on 46 percent of his three-point attempts last year after hitting 44 percent his freshman year, used the advice he got during the pre-draft workout process to shore up the other parts of his game.
“Over the summer I decided to work on my body, my ball-handling and then my leadership role on the team, being able to lead the team through my actions and my words,” he said.
A more versatile Thompson has the potential to terrorize Georgetown opponents this year, as he has already proven himself as a big-game player. Although the Blue and Gray have been upset in the opening round of the past two NCAA tournaments, none of the blame for those losses can be pinned on Thompson. The Los Angeles native has averaged 21 points per tournament game — missing only four of 18 shots in the process — despite playing a mere 25 minutes per contest. Thompson’s 26-point, seven-rebound performance was the lone bright spot of last year’s shocking loss to Virginia Commonwealth.
Thompson’s playing time should also get a bump this year. He started 22 games last year but found himself relegated to the bench during the latter third of the season, as the team’s rebounding problems caused Head Coach John Thompson III to insert 6-foot-9 then-freshman Nate Lubickinto the starting lineup. While Thompson III has yet to announce his team’s starting five for this year, it’s a safe bet that the junior will be starting and seeing major minutes. Thompson, though, remains unfazed by what is likely to be a lot of extra responsibility.
“To be honest, it doesn’t change my mindset that much,” Thompson said of his new role on the team. “I have to approach everything as I did last year, and I think if I do that I’ll be fine.”
Easing the transition that Thompson and many of his teammates are making this year will be the team unity spurred by the brawl on the team’s trip to China.
“[Before the trip] when we said ‘bonding’ and all that stuff, we had no idea,” Thompson said. “After an experience like that, you really know that your team has your back. You never want that to happen, but as far as team bonding goes, it was a good experience for us.”
It is no secret that the last couple seasons have not gone according to plan for the Hoyas. But, with a stronger, more versatile and more experienced Thompson leading the way, the inexperienced Blue and Gray team still has a chance to do what it hasn’t done for the past few years: Make some noise in March.
