Taurean Thompson
6-10 235 LBS New York NY
Brewster Academy / St. Anthony
Bio
**2019 BIG EAST ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM**
2018-19: Played in 27 games for Seton Hall...Averaged 4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in a reserve role...Had an excellent performance vs. Grand Canyon in the Wooden Legacy Quarterfinals with 12 points and two blocks in just 15 minutes (11/22/18)...Played a season-high 25 minutes and had 13 points and six rebounds in Seton Hall's win over No. 9 Kentucky at Madison Square Garden (12/08/18)...Delivered seven points and blocked a shot in the road win at Xavier (1/02/19)...Huge second half at DePaul and finished with 15 points including 3-of-4 from three (1/06/19)...Scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting at Providence (1/15/19)...Was outstanding in the return bout vs. Providence, recording eight points, a team-high 9 rebounds and four blocks in the win over the Friars (1/30/19).
2017-18: Sat out the season due to NCAA transfer regulations.
BEFORE SETON HALL: Attended Syracuse for one year, where he averaged 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds...Had a career-high 22 points against Boston University...Led the team with 18 points and three blocks at Virginia Tech...Had 18 points against Wake Forest...Recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds at Georgia Tech...Averaged 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in the Postseason NIT...Previously attended Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, where he was a second-team All-NEPSAC Class AAA selection and helped the program to a 25-10 record and second-round appearance in the National Prep Championships...Also attended St. Anthony High School in Jersey City and played for legendary head coach Bob Hurley...with Thompson, the team was 28-2 in 2014-15 and won the NJSIAA Non-Public B North championship...Consensus Top 100, four-star recruit, ranked as high as No. 59 by 247Sports...Named the MVP of the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game after contributing 27 points and 13 rebounds.
PERSONAL: Son of Sherese Piper and Andre Thompson...Born May 1997.
Clearly the discussion with Thompson is going to focus mainly off the court as the New York native only played in one game for the Pirates in the 2019/20 season, logging just 4 minutes. This after playing in all 34 games his freshmen year at Syracuse, averaging nearly 18 minutes a game and 9.2 points in that short time span.
Numbers that excited Pirate fans when word came out that he was transferring to Seton Hall and would have three years of eligibility after sitting out a mandatory basketball season per NCAA regulations.
Initially consensus was that this was a coup of major proportions for Kevin Willard and his Pirate squad. Thompson was rated 4 stars by every rating service and just as importantly he was a physically gifted 6-10 4 man who could play in the middle if necessary. Players of that ilk rarely commit to Seton Hall.
But it did not work out as planned because from the time he walked on campus issues abound both on and off the court starting with Syracuse (read Boeheim despite his denials). Boeheim through channels immediately contacted the NCAA to file tampering charges against the Hall, Shaheen Holloway and Kevin Willard. Charges that were eventually confirmed leading to NCAA restrictions on both SHU coaches, and the school. Including loss of 1 scholarship, a 2 game suspension for Willard, a 4 game suspension for Holloway, a $5000.00 fine and forfeiture of 1% of the school's basketball budget.
All for a player who would barely play much quality time in South Orange after sitting out the 2017/18 season.
Where did it all go wrong?
Well it wasn't so much off the court, despite the player coming here with a reputation both in high school and in his one year at Syracuse as being a derisive locker room force with teammates. In fact it tuned out just the opposite as TT, as he is so affectionately referred to was popular with all his teammates, as well as his classmates at the school. With that as the backdrop questions remained, not only why did he not succeed in a Pirate uniform, but why couldn't he even see the light of day this past season on the court?
Here I want to answer the question delicately. After all, Thompson is a young man, not a professional athlete open to public scrutiny.
So with that said I will note that TT had issues understanding both Kevin Willard's intricate defenses and his offensive schemes as well. And because of that there was a lack of trust with the player by the staff and its head coach.
So much so that even in practice Thompson didn't see much court time as clearly he wasn't going to play with the rotation players and his lack of BB knowledge prevented him from working with the scout team.
Yet through all of this, the player, seen by so many before he committed here as a malcontent always had a smile on his face and words of encouragement for his teammates. In short his reputation as a high D1 player but a problem child off the court did a 180 degree turn.
A shame because Thompson so was likable in his time here with so many rooting for him that he became a fan favorite despite his limited playing time.
A final point I would like to make before giving my 2019/20 rating for Thompson....before this past season began his head coach sat with the player and his mom. At the time Kevin Willard was very honest with the two. He noted that TT would not play a lot and if the decision was made that Thompson would transfer he would do so with the coaches blessing. But in no way would he be forced to take that route if he didn't make that choice.
Thompson because of limited options didn't and true to his word Willard did not give him much PT. Ending with word this week that the 6-10 forward has now entered the transfer portal bringing a conclusion to his star-crossed career in South Orange.
Final Rating: Incomplete
