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IllustrateD volume 24, issue 5 65 f for the team," said classmate Adam Kroot, whose high school career ended that night as well. "Without him, we probably wouldn't have even been in that game and he risked a lot just by playing. It showed a lot about his character and heart." But it was nothing new. Thompson's father, LaSalle, had seen it before, re- membering a time in middle school when his oldest son broke a bone in his wrist, then played, and played well, in an AAU tournament a day after getting his cast removed. That's will, one of the many characteristics that ei- ther came naturally to Thompson or was passed down. P.J. Thompson is the product of a basketball family. LaSalle Thompson III was an Indiana All-Star (alongside Glenn Robinson) from Pike who went on to star at Ball State, then play professionally overseas until 2002. His father, LaSalle II, played at North Central in In- dianapolis and remains a presence in his grandsons' playing careers and his son's AAU coaching and train- ing work. LaSalle Thompson IV, or "P.J.," has been taught well, raised to be a point guard. "It's the most demanding position in basketball," his father says, "but it's a position he's been born to play." Point guard may be one of the most burdensome positions in sports when it comes to balancing the tangible and intangible. To the former, P.J. Thompson is undersized by most standards, but he's strong for his diminutive stature and quick enough. He showed through his high school career as Brebeuf's primary scorer that he can make jump shots and excel in the open floor alike. During the summers, he either starred for his father's AAU teams or took a step back and provided glue for an ultra-talented team that included big-time recruits James Blackmon Jr. (Indiana), Trevon Bluiett (Xavi- er), Trey Lyles (Kentucky), JaQuan Lyle (Oregon) and others. It was both Thompson's talent and adaptability that Purdue held in high regard for the several years it re- cruited him before offering a scholarship this spring. But it was just as much his make-up, his wiring as a player and personality. His toughness has been proven time and again. His charisma and positive energy seem infectious and in- fluential to those around him. "It rubs off on everybody," Kroot said. "He's just a great leader, plain and simple." Ryan Cline, a star shooter from Carmel who may very well join Thompson at Purdue starting in 2015, trains with LaSalle and P.J. Thompson regularly, ses- sions in which the point guard's leadership shows up when hardly anyone's watching. "He expects nothing but your best, because that's what you're going to get from him," said Cline, who was offered a scholarship by Matt Painter and his staff in mid-April. "… He's just a born leader." It's an interesting study, Thompson's character- istics and how they jibe so well with the position he plays. Is he the way he is because he's a point guard or is he a point guard because of the way he is? Jamie Owens/Jsports.com Thompson's makeup as a person is what attracted Purdue. His toughness and aggressiveness should make him a con- tributor before long.