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SF Sam Thompson (JB Monferrato - Italy)

wadc45

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Chicago (IL) Whitney Young Magnet HS
AAU: Mac Irvin Fire

Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 200 lbs

ESPN said:
Evaluation

July, 2009: Sam Thompson has a great feel for the game. He plays with a tremendous vision on the floor and his mid-range game is off the charts. He catches the ball with strength on the perimeter and has a great series of footwork and one dribble moves. He takes the ball to the glass and scores with efficiency. The floater off the glass is a weapon he uses better than most in his class. He keeps getting better defending the ball and shows marked improvement off the ball defensively, his hands and quick feet allow him to get in the passing lanes to steal and lead the break. He can block shots when he is coming from the weakside. He has a little bit of a hitch in his outside shot but he is capable of hitting the deep three, opening up the drive for him.

April, 2009: Sam is a long, athletic wing with very good ball skills. He plays with good basketball I.Q. He's a good ball handler, capable of attacking with both hands off the dribble. He has a solid mid-range jump shot. He also displayed the ability to knockdown the 3 with collegiate range. Throughout the weekend (Boo Williams Invitational) Thompson proved to be a handful offensively. His size and length on the wing created match up problems for most. He easily made shots over smaller defenders. He stretched zones with his 3 ball. He was most impressive in transition when his athleticism was on display. He was smooth in transition, making great decisions and attacking the rim. Defensively, he was solid on the ball. He works to keep his man in front and uses his long arms to get wide to make it difficult for passes to get through. He's a good shot blocker from the wing position and a willing rebounder. Overall, Sam is a very good player with the potential to be a great player with the tools he possesses. He definitely needs to get physically stronger. If he adds a post game to his offense he could become an even more versatile player.

January, 2009: Thompson has a great deal of upside and potential and his best basketball will come in the future. He has very good athleticism and leaping ability which makes him a very good rebounder, especially on the offensive end. Thompson has to get significantly stronger in order to convert in traffic when he snags offensive boards. Increasing his strength will make him a better defender as well. Thompson likes to attack the rim off the dribble and has good body control when he can get into the paint. He has to continue to improve his ball-handling skills and his perimeter shooting range and accuracy as he matures.

December, 2008: Thompson is oozing with talent. He is an athletic wing that excels in transition. He can finish above the rim with good athletic ability. He is long, lean and very agile. He likes to attack the rim along the baseline. If he can't get all the way to the basket he will stop and pop into a sweet pull up jumper. Thompson has great body control around the basket and will excite you with his acrobatic finishes that include spins and twist of his body. Thompson can shoot the open three when he has time to study it but this is clearly an area his needs to improve to be an elite prospect. He also needs to be a more consistent rebound and utilize his quickness length and athletic ability. He has high major written all over him is he continues to develop.

Scout $

10/10

By Evan Daniels...focused on Oregon State, Ohio State, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas, Illinois, Miami and Virginia Tech...talks about his visit to OSU where he was offered...was scheduled to also visit Florida and Oregon State in October.
 
Oregon State Is The Latest Program To Host 6'7" Class Of 2011 Chicago Whitney Young Star Sam Thompson On Campus For An Unofficial Visit As He Continues To Work His Way Through The Recruiting Process
Cavan Walsh
November 4, 2009


Chicago Whitney Young star Sam Thompson, who rates as one of the top Class of 2011 prospects in the country, has been busy making campus visits this fall, and this past weekend he enjoyed a strong visit to the campus of Oregon State University.

Thompson, a 6'7" wing, is an explosive athlete, and excels both in the classroom, and also on the basketball court. Thompson enjoyed his visit to the west coast, and his opportunity to get more familiar with Oregon State University. Thompson said, "The Oregon State visit went really well. I liked the campus, the coaching staff, and enjoyed the players on the visit. They are definitely an up and coming program in the Pac-10, and also on the west coast.?

Thompson has long known Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson, but is still focused on considering each school, and coaching staff on an equal level. ?I have a good relationship with the coaching staff without a doubt. They were one of the first schools to really get into recruiting me, so I feel I know them well. I look at him (Coach Robinson) the same way that I do every other coach. I do not view him differently because of my relationship with him as a child, or because of his relationship with President Obama. I still have to make an educated decision based on how well I feel I will succeed,? said Thompson.

Thompson does not have a leader, and is still working his way through the recruiting process. Thompson said, ?I don?t have a leader right now. I?m feeling the process out myself. Ohio State, Florida, Oregon State, Illinois and Kansas are my top five in no particular order.?

Oregon State Is The Latest Program To Host 6'7" Class Of 2011 Chicago Whitney Young Star Sam Thompson On Campus For An Unofficial Visit As He Continues To Work His Way Through The Recruiting Process
 
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Beal to FLA may help us out some on that front. I know his family has strong ties to the ORST staff but I hope we can use fellow-Chicago star ET to try to win this battle. Oregon is a long way from Chicago! We really do have some playing time available for a great wing to earn if they come in ready.
 
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Latest Recruiting Blurbs
December 22, 2009

6'6 class of 2011 shooting guard Sam Thompson from Whitney Young High School appears to be focused on six schools--Oregon State, Illinois, Ohio State, Florida, Kansas and a sixth school that shall remain a secret for now. While the mystery school has not been mentioned as prominently as the other five up to this point and has not yet offered, the head coach of this school has been sending Thompson tons of mail and let's just say that Thompson is intrigued. We hope to have more on this in the future.

What we also find interesting with respect to Thompson is that despite the fact that he has never mentioned the University Of Wisconsin as being among his suitors, the Badgers coaching staff is conceding nothing when it comes to Thompson's recruitment. In reality it is the exact opposite, as assistant coach Howard Moore has been ever-present at a number of Thompson's games, including the marquee showdown vs. Simeon this past weekend. Few coaches have spent as much time recruiting in Chicago during December as Moore, who also attended the Public League Red-South battle between Brooks and Chicago Vocational last week for the purpose of watching 5'11 class of 2011 point guard George Marshall. Right now the Badgers are among the frontrunners for Marshall's services.

http://ilprepbullseye.com/page40.html
 
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Buckskin86;1624807; said:
6'6 class of 2011 shooting guard Sam Thompson from Whitney Young High School appears to be focused on six schools--Oregon State, Illinois, Ohio State, Florida, Kansas and a sixth school that shall remain a secret for now. While the mystery school has not been mentioned as prominently as the other five up to this point and has not yet offered, the head coach of this school has been sending Thompson tons of mail and let's just say that Thompson is intrigued. We hope to have more on this in the future.

Buckskin86;1691850; said:
Narrowed his schools to five...in order he listed.

Ohio State, Florida, Oregon State, Illinois and Kentucky
gee, was the secret school kentucky? worldwide wes to the rescue, baby. :roll1:

alan major was a strong chicagoland recruiter for the buckeyes. he was the lead recruiter for evan turner and lenzelle smith. fortunately, ohio state is still in thompson's top five. i hope that continues in spite of major's departure.
 
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Updated: June 9, 2010
Thompson down to five schools
By Brendan Murphy
ESPN
Chicago.com

RIVERSIDE, Ill. -- Sam Thompson has a plan.

The rising senior forward from Chicago's Whitney Young is well aware that the recruiting process, on a good day, is organized chaos. Thompson, the nation's No. 55-rated prospect, is doing the best he can to maintain some form of order.

"I have a top five right now," Thompson said at this past weekend's Riverside-Brookfield Shootout. "I don't know if it's completely final but that's the looks of things. Ohio State, Oregon State, Florida, Georgetown and Kansas, and that's in no particular order. & As of right now, I'm going to take all five of my visits to those schools and hopefully decide before [the early signing period in November.]"

Although he doesn't have an Illinois school on his list, many of Thompson's potential college destinations have had much recruiting success in the area.

"That's definitely something that's a plus, having a good Chicago connection, but I wasn't looking for a Chicago connection when I was making my school list," he said. "I was more looking for the best fit for me personally."

As far as the criteria that might impact Thompson's decision, he is very interested in what systems the teams run and how he fits.

"Two of the schools on [the list] run a Princeton offense [Georgetown and Oregon State]," Thompson said. "Then you have Ohio State, more of a slow down team. Florida really likes to get it out there and run along with Kansas. So I have a few different styles of play on there. & I'm going to look more deeply into that this summer."

Thompson will spend his summer playing for the ubertalented Mac Irvin Fire travel team. He also will be attending the NBPA Top 100 Camp, the Kevin Durant Skills Academy and the LeBron James Skills Academy.

"I want to have good showing at all the camps," Thompson said. "I want to have a good showing in July and try to become an all-American. I just want to play as well as I can."

Recruiting plan suiting Whitney Young's Sam Thompson well - ESPN Chicago
 
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Scout.com: Nike Skills Recap (free)

Sam Thompson maintains a top five of Florida, Ohio State, Oregon State, Georgetown and Kansas. "Oregon State, Florida and Ohio State have been there since the very beginning and I've grown quite comfortable with their staffs and the schools. I'd say those three are a little bit ahead of Kansas and Georgetown," Thompson said. Sam is planning on going to Florida's elite camp in August and may visit Ohio State when he participates in the LeBron James Skills Academy in July. Kansas and Georgetown have not yet offered the four-star small forward.
 
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