It certainly raised a few eyebrows around Columbus when it was announced March 26 that Ohio State sophomore center Trevor Thompson planned to take advantage of a new college basketball rule that allowed players to declare for the NBA Draft with the option to return to school without eligibility being affected, so long as they do not hire an agent.
Thompson averaged just 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season as the Buckeyes’ starting center, so he did not seem to be on the radar of many for the NBA — at least not yet, anyway.
In reality, however, it was really a win-win decision for Thompson. He could put his name out there as a potential early entree, but if he did not get the feedback he wanted throughout the evaluation process, he would be able to return to school without any issues.
It was also widely expected Thompson would indeed return to school for his junior season and on Wednesday, Ohio State associate head coach Dave Dickerson said Thompson was not invited to next week’s NBA Combine and that the team is planning as if he will be in the fold for next season. No final decision has been made yet, but the expectation within the staff is Thompson will return.
“From our aspect, we think that Trevor will be back,” Dickerson said. “I think that Trevor knows this is a really good situation for him at Ohio State especially with Daniel Giddens leaving. Trevor knows that he’s young from a basketball standpoint and that his development is in front of him and that he’s going to be more of a focal point of who we are in our success next year.
“I do expect Trevor to come back to our program and our university.”
Thompson and Giddens essentially rotated at the center position last season for Ohio State; Thompson started 28 games while Giddens started seven. After the season, however, Giddens opted to transfer from the program after one season. It was reported Wednesday Giddens' final four schools are Alabama, Georgia, TCU and Pittsburgh.
Thompson would figure to get the bulk of the minutes should he opt to return as the staff expects. The Buckeyes do have redshirt sophomore David Bell still on the roster as a big man and will add a pair in the 2016 recruiting class in Micah Potter and Derek Funderburk, but Dickerson said he does not expect Funderburk to be in direct competition with the other three for playing time as he has the ability to play other positions on the floor.
Dickerson did not clarify whether or not Thompson currently has any workouts scheduled with NBA teams, but did say if that opportunity comes about it can certainly be beneficial for him going forward.
“To work with NBA coaches and to get a feel for their game and get an evaluation of what can help them matriculate to that level is always a good thing. It’s a good self-evaluation for the kid,” Dickerson said. “For us, we want to make sure that they look at that evaluation or that rejection as not being a negative thing. Trevor having a chance to experience the NBA world will definitely help him and I think he’ll bring that experience back and that chip on his shoulder that he needs in order to prepare himself to be the player that he wants to be.”
The date for players to withdrawal their names from the NBA Draft this year is May 25 — 10 days after the NBA Combine concludes.
