Jason Thompson - NBA Draft Prospects

Numbers: 20.4 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.7 bpg, 1.1 spg, 56% FG, 58% FT, 32% 3's

About Him: Jason Thompson put up fantastic numbers this season, and although he did play for Rider (in the low-major MAAC) he still put 24 and 17 on Michael Beasley and 24 and 15 on JJ Hickson in early season play. Offensively, Thompson's game is pretty well-rounded. He has a nice back-to-the-basket game and uses an effective turn-around jumper and jump-hook, but he is much better going to his right than to his left. He was inconsistent finishing at the rim this year, and often times attempts moves that are beyond his skill set, which result in him either looking like a lottery pick or an undrafted free agent. He also has a decent perimeter game. His jump-shot does not have to prettiest form, but he is able to knock it down pretty consistently out to the college three. He also showed the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. There are two knocks on Thompson's game right now. The first is that he does not always play hard, especially defensively. He is a capable defender on the block and has shown excellent shot-blocking ability despite now being a tremendous athlete, but he tends to get pushed around, does not hold his position well, and also struggles defending on the perimeter. The other problem with Thompson's game is that he has developed a tendency to try and bully his way through a defender going to the rim, something that probably developed playing against smaller defenders at Rider. He won't be able to do that at the NBA level, and will need to develop a Pau-Gasol-esque finesse game around the rim.

Comparisons: Juwan Howard, Pau Gasol (stretch)

Bottom Line: Thompson definitely has the build and the skill set to hang around the league for a while. Depending on how he develops, he could eventually be a starter one day, and if he can add some more muscle he may be able to slide over and play some center. He looks like he's headed for the end of the first round.