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SF Sam Thompson (JB Monferrato - Italy)

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Can the Buckeyes' Sam Thompson be like Indiana's Victor Oladipo, a leaper whose game made that leap? Ohio State basketball preview
By Doug Lesmerises, Northeast Ohio Media Group
November 08, 2013

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Sam Thompson can see the comparison coming, like he’s anticipating it and thinking of jumping in the passing lane to tip it away and steal it and grab it and race down the court and thrown it down with a full 360 dunk that would wind up on every highlight show in the country.

That’s the thing. That he can do. But there’s a little more to greatness than that. A little more to making an All-American team and winding up as the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft.

A little more to, here it comes Sam, playing like … Victor Oladipo.

“Victor Oladipo,” Thompson repeated last month. “You’re not the first person that said that.”

A year ago, as a junior with the Indiana Hoosiers, the 6-5, 215-pound Oladipo blew up. If Thompson’s offseason plan – “shoot a bunch of shots” – worked, he could be ticking down to an explosive 2013-14 season, which opens on Saturday for Ohio State against Morgan State.

Oladipo went from averaging 10.6 points per game as a sophomore to 13.6 points as a junior. From shooting 47 percent from the field to shooting 60 percent. From making 21 percent of his 3-pointers to 44 percent. From good to great. From a dunker and defender to one of the best all-around players in college basketball.
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http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2013/11/can_the_buckeyes_sam_thompson.html
 
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AKAK said:
He got robbed.
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I agree. The soccer kick was cool but lucky as hell. That was a kick that you make and hope to hell is goes in. The alley-oops were at least methodical and something that takes cohesion to do in a competitive basketball game.

(kind of like Auburn's finish versus Ohio State's finish - lucky return vs skilled defensive stand)
 
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#2 on the top-10 was one of the best dunks I've seen from an OSU player in recent years. I know Dallas Lauderdale had a great dunk at Miami in the 2008-2009 season, that's got to be on the short list as well. Of course, to me a wide open dunk no matter how demonstrative isn't as good as one where you dunk over somebody and get really high up to do it.
 
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Interesting to hear Steve Bardo say during the North Dakota State game that he thought if Thompson could improve his shot a little bit more he can play at the next level because of his athleticism. I would also think that he needs to put on a little more weight over the next year and a half if he is going to play at the next level but nobody can question his athleticism:yow2:
 
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“I think that Sam is playing at a really high level right now,” Matta said. “If you look, he’s usually in there during crunch time and I think he knows that. Sam is what I would consider the ultimate team player. He wants to win, and he wants to do whatever he has to do to help us. The fact that he is coming off the bench, I think he’s really igniting our team when he comes into the game.”
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Sam Thompson won't get the Madison Square Garden introduction, but he's settling in as Ohio State's sixth man
 
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