Post by jhb on Jun 30, 2021 7:55:36 GMT -5
LaSalle Thompson
C
6'10"
245
21
Texas
LaSalle "Tank" Thompson comes to TMBSL after a really solid career at Texas where he broke and set by a mile the Texas school rebounding record despite playing only three full years of college basketball and getting off to a relatively slow start as a freshman. Without a whole lot of help and a playing with a dearth of talent around him, Thompson guided the Longhorns to a winning season at 16-11 his final year after enduring a .500 season as a sophomore.
Thompson is a rebounding standout and should continue to be such at the TMBSL level. While he is a bouncy athlete with excellent length and has a good frame to continue to add strength (though the nickname "Tank" may be a slight misnomer in the strength department now), his defining characteristic is his instinct for sealing out opponents' attempts to get to the glass and his ability to anticipate rebounds on both ends of the court. Offensively, a lot of his game is predicated on the putback opportunity and defensively he absolutely wipes out opponent possessions as soon as a missed shot attempt goes up. His length, quickness, and bounciness is also on display defensively, where he was a very good post defender and tenacious rim protector for the Longhorns, reaching up to 2 blocks per game during his final collegiate season.
Offensively, Thompson is a little bit more raw. He was called on to lead his team's scoring efforts at Texas and consistently won with his size and athleticism over overmatched SWC defenders. He may benefit from being reduced to a more simple role with talented players around him, as he struggles to create his own offense and is a little shaky handling the ball when double teamed in the post. Ideally, he would be deployed more as a pick and roll screener who can devastate opponents with quick dives to the basket where he elevates and finishes around the rim (where he works best)...but he'll need to work on improving his receiving as he had a tendency to develop stone hands at times. He could potentially even develop into a decent pick and pop threat as he is a decent jump shooter...he just doesn't love to take his shot from the floor which is a shame because he shot just over 70% from the free throw line in college.
Thompson's athletic ability gives him some projectable upside, but he'll need to continue to add strength and work to continue to develop his offensive game and skills. Some scouts were hoping that Thompson would return for one more year of college to refine these aspects of his game, but he's ready to go pro now.