Indiana is a basketball team marred by inconsistency in almost every aspect of the game. It has been inconsistent with effort, focus, defense and offense at different times this season.
The one player who remains the same no matter the circumstances is Race Thompson. Thompson took his initial leap towards the latter half of the 2019-2020 season, and he has kept ascending from there.
"I’m not sure I’ve been around a guy that has evolved more from the first day he got on campus to today," IU head coach Archie Miller said postgame Sunday. "If he is not the most improved player in our league this year, he is right there."
Thompson's stats don't wow you. The redshirt junior averages just 10.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He gets overshadowed by frontcourt partner Trayce Jackson-Davis, who gets all the national attention for his gargantuan scoring and rebounding numbers.
Thompson doesn't get as much attention because his best qualities cannot be measured by a box score. He always brings elite-level effort anytime he steps on a basketball court, and that type of motor creates winning plays.
