Thompson finds little down time since joining Pilots

Rob Miech

Tristan Thompson, a junior power forward who transferred to Findlay Prep from St. Benedict’s in New Jersey in February, holds a piece of the net that he had just cut after helping the Pilots beat Oak Hill, 74-66, in the championship game of the ESPN RISE National High School Invitational. Thompson had 12 points and a team-best 11 rebounds.

By Rob Miech (contact)

Friday, June 19, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Findlay College Prep forward Tristan Thompson’s whirlwind life hasn’t slowed down since he landed with the Pilots in February.

As a super reserve, he helped Findlay win a national championship over the vaunted Oak Hill Academy in April. He just participated in a tournament in France, which was his first trip to Europe.

He didn’t care for all the dairy products or lamb.

“I prefer chicken,” Thompson said. “But you do what you’ve got to do when you’re hungry.”

Thompson went home to the Toronto area, with longtime pal and Findlay teammate Cory Joseph, for a few days of rest.

Now he’s in Charlottesville, Va., at the prestigious National Basketball Players Association Top 100 Camp at the University of Virginia.

Joseph is at the camp, too, and both will be on the Canadian junior national team that will play in the FIBA U19 World Championship next month in New Zealand.

“Living the dream,” Thompson said during a break in his schedule Thursday night. “I’m enjoying this time and I’m blessed God gave me the opportunity to do all these wonderful events and all this travel.”

The Top 100 Camp is reserved for the country’s elite prep players, and Thompson and Joseph are major reasons why Findlay will be poised to defend its ESPN national championship next season.

Thompson, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound lefty ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the land for the Class of 2010 by the recruiting service Rivals.com, has given an oral commitment to Texas coach Rick Barnes.

Joseph, a 6-3, 175-pound all-around threat, is rated sixth by Rivals. He lists Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Louisville, Texas and UNLV among 15 programs in which he’s interested.

“I’m enjoying it here,” Thompson said. “Cory and I are still getting used to the time, having come over from Europe just a few days ago. But it went well. I had played the international game before.

“We struggled a bit on the defensive side, but I think we did well for a team that had only been together for a week.”

Thompson, who dealt with enough drama last season, is happy to be concentrating on basketball.

He was booted from the Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s squad after engaging in a public disagreement with coach Danny Hurley, and he made a smooth transition to Findlay.

As a powerful inside force off the bench, spelling Carlos Lopez, Thompson was instrumental in helping the Pilots win the national title at Georgetown Prep in Maryland.

“Next season, I’m going to do a lot better shooting the ball and handling the ball,” Thompson said of his senior season. “Those are two main things I’m working on all summer, against teams from all over the world. It’s another stepping stone to becoming great.”

This is the 17th Top 100 Camp, and its rich list of alumni includes Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Baron Davis, Cory Maggette, Jason Richardson and Dwight Howard.

Players arrived Wednesday and will stay through Sunday. They are grouped into teams for games, and there are special individual skill development programs for each participant.

What sets this camp apart, however, is that professional scouts and sneaker representatives are barred from the John Paul Jones Arena. There is no pressure to perform for such evaluators.

Tim McCormick, the director of the NBPA Top 100 Camp, said this year’s edition has the deepest pool of talent ever assembled at a summer hoops camp.

What also sets this camp apart is the fine-tuning players receive in classroom and collegiate guidance, and life-skills direction.

Calvin Booth of the Sacramento Kings, Maurice Evans of the Atlanta Hawks, Lindsey Hunter of the Chicago Bulls, Michael Ruffin of the Portland Trail Blazers and Ryan Bowen of the New Orleans Hornets spoke to Thompson and his peers Thursday.

“About basketball and life,” Thompson said. “About things that can bring you down, stuff that kills dreams. About what motivates NBA players. They talked about their struggles, how they got to the league and how they stayed there.

“That’s the thing. I won’t be satisfied just getting there. I want a long career.”

In one classroom session, the topic was females and how to avoid compromising situations. In another, there were questions about why some players don’t get better and what holds others back.

Thompson is learning about international travel, too, as his passport gets dog-eared. He stayed up the night before leaving for France, so he slept that entire flight.

On the way back, he took one Tylenol PM. “Didn’t work,” said Thompson, who will take two to New Zealand and two on the way back.

As for all he accomplished, so far, in his brief tenure at Findlay, Thompson has been surprised at his newfound fame.

“More people knew we won the national championship than I thought,” he said. “They say, ‘You have a good team!’ A lot of people know about us. We made more noise than I thought.”