Isaiah Thompson
6-1, 170 Pounds, Combo Guard
Zionsville, IN (Zionsville HS)
2019-2020 Stats: 5.6 PPG, 1 RBG, .7 APG, 18.7 MPG, 36% 3P%
2020-2021 Prediction: 6 PPG, 1.5 RBG, 1 APG, 18 MPG, 38% 3P%
Isaiah Thompson surprised a lot of people with how much he played.
While he may lack some size, he makes up for it with basketball IQ and shooting ability. Last season, the combo guard was one of our best 3 point shooters on the team.
Many believed coming in, he was guaranteed to redshirt. With the departure of Carsen Edwards, we needed some more depth at the 1/2 guard spot and Isaiah helped fill that void.
Isaiah, at times, did get beat up on the defensive end of the court, but at the same time, he showed some grit, getting some nice steals throughout the season.
Personally, I am not sure how much offensive growth we need from him this upcoming season, but some defensive growth would go a long way. I do feel pretty confident in saying he understands the expectations and the defensive scheme Coach Painter uses, he just needs to get bigger and stronger to handle some Big Ten Guards.
There really is not any evidence suggesting he won’t see similar minutes to last year. You hope he continues to get stronger and keep his smooth stroke. Even with an incoming freshman class with guards, Jaden Ivey & Ethan Morton, experience goes a long way and I would think IT will stay north of 15 MPG.