Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/305196
64 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 5 f m e n ' s b a s k e t b a l l r e c r u i t i n g : P . J . T h o m P s o n BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com INDIANAPOLIS — With or with- out P.J. Thompson, Brebeuf was probably going to lose its Class 3A sectional game against mighty Guerin Catholic. Even if their soon-to-be-named Indiana All-Star guard had been in peak condition, the Braves were go- ing to be hard-pressed to take down Guerin and its massive front line in that March 8 meeting. Roughly two weeks earlier, on Feb. 25, the point guard hurt his foot against Anderson, an injury soon af- ter determined to almost certainly be a season-ender. He'd slightly torn the plantar fascia in his right foot. It wasn't a catastrophic injury, by any means — the foundation of its treatment plan was simply extended rest — but it was late February and while the affliction might not have been disastrous, the timing couldn't have been much worse. When sectionals opened, Brebeuf managed to get past Chatard with Thompson sidelined, setting up the title-game meeting with Guerin, a team that would go on to very nearly take down machine-like eventual 3A champion Greensburg. By this point, Thompson had yet to concede the remainder of his high school career to injury, even though the eventual Purdue spring signee was still, at least to some extent, playing for a scholarship. Thompson was told been told by doctors that he couldn't really worsen the injury — not that there is ever any absolute certainty with such things — but playing would at the very least set his rehab back. No one would have blamed him had he sat out. He played. "I loved my guys at Brebeuf," Thompson said April 16, the day he signed his letter-of-intent with the Boil- ermakers. "We went through a lot together and played as hard as we could to try to win a sectional champion- ship. It was my senior year, (maybe) my last game. If we were going to lose to one of the favorites to win the 3A championship, I wanted to go out there and give it my all. We came up short, but if I had to do it all over, I'd definitely do it again." Thompson's high school career did end that day, Brebeuf going down 36-30. Note the score: With Thompson hobbled and unable to push the ball in transition as he'd done for so many years at Brebeuf — he started all four years at the north-side Indianapolis private school — the Braves ran clock and tried to win ugly. They didn't miss by much, as Thompson scored half his team's points, making 5-of-11 shots, including a trio of three-point- ers. The hobbled 5-foot-9 guard grabbed five rebounds to go along with his two assists. "That spoke volumes about him, because he did it SUBSTANCE DRIVEN Thompson's intangibles earned him opportunity at Purdue Bill Hicks P.J. Thompson, pictured with his parents Tonja and LaSalle Thompson III, pose on Brebeuf's senior night. The youngest Thompson readily admits his parents have been a strong influence on his life.