University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Seeing Deon
November 29, 2009 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Nov. 29, 2009
By Adam Lucas
John Henson thought he watched Carolina Basketball as closely as anyone last season. After all, the Tampa product knew he'd be a Tar Heel during the 2009-10 season. He wanted to have some background on his future teammates.
When he arrived in Chapel Hill, though, one particular player surprised him.
"Deon," Henson says, "is a hooper."
This is high praise, 2009-style. It's good to be a hooper. "I first realized it in the pickup games," Henson says. "He would go to work and do a lot of good things. He's always kind of been in the shadow, and now he's his own man."
Is he out of the shadow, really? Thompson played a terrific game in Carolina's 80-73 victory over Nevada on Sunday night. He scored a career-high 23 points and dominated Wanda on the backboards, grabbing eight of them. But most of the postgame media questions were about Ed Davis (16 points, 15 rebounds) or Larry Drew II (10 assists, 1 turnover, a pair of huge late-game three-pointers).
See? Even when he should be the story, even when he does a little bit of everything, Thompson just can't be the story.
It's been like that his entire career. Think about it. Freshman year, he was part of the California post twins (this was back before the Tar Heels had actual California post twins) with Alex Stepheson. Thompson would have a good game one day, then Stepheson would be more effective the next game.
Stepheson departed, but then Thompson spent two seasons playing alongside Tyler Hansbrough, the basketball equivalent of being Tim Tebow's backup quarterback.
Now he's a senior, and every single preseason story about Carolina told you that Marcus Ginyard was going to be this year's David Noel. That's not right. Noel largely did it alone, because fellow senior Byron Sanders wasn't on the floor for extended minutes. Ginyard isn't alone. He has Thompson, who has become perhaps even more vocal than Ginyard on the court.
Still, though, we don't think of Thompson as "the guy." When someone like Isiah Thomas says, "Deon Thompson is as good as anyone in the NBA," we raise an eyebrow. Our Deon Thompson? NBA? Guess we never really saw him that way.
Should we be seeing him differently? We've become so conditioned to instant superstars that sometimes a four-year player who evolves every year escapes notice.
Watch him play. Quietly, he has also developed a much more diverse game. When he arrived, he had one go-to move--a turnaround jumper on the baseline. Now, he feels comfortable with four different offensive moves, and can shoot his turnaround over either shoulder.
"That turnaround is automatic," says Henson, who had to defend it in the summer pickup games. "He doesn't miss that shot very often."
Thompson has always been able to score. But now he's doing other things. Near the end of the first half, he battled for an offensive rebound and scored on a stickback to stretch the Carolina lead to four points. With under a minute to play, it was Thompson who tipped out a missed Ed Davis free throw to preserve a Carolina possession and essentially seal the victory.
It's not a coincidence that with Thompson out midway through the second half, a six-point Tar Heel lead turned into a one-point deficit in less than 150 seconds.
His defense, though, is his subtle signature. Last year, he played quality minutes against Clemson workhorse Trevor Booker, who Hansbrough named as the toughest player to play against in the ACC. Sunday, he helped harass Nevada standout Luke Babbitt into a 5-for-18 performance, including completely shutting him out from the 10:31 mark until 19 seconds remained--the key part of the game. A player who can guard both Booker in the post and Babbitt on the perimeter is headed for a future in basketball.
It's not just Thompson's on-the-ball skills that stick out. It's also his awareness, as when he jumped out on a Wolf Pack guard who was trying to come off a screen late in the first half. The understated move forced a shot clock violation.
Still, if he eventually earns any league or national attention--he didn't make the preseason All-ACC team--it will be for his scoring. Late in the game, with Carolina trailing by one, it was Thompson who grabbed an offensive rebound and went ferociously to the hoop, scoring to provide a lead Carolina would not relinquish.
Could it be, perhaps, that Thompson is becoming the man on a team that needs a fail-safe offensive option?
"I try not to look at it that way," he says. "Coach tells me I don't have to be the guy. I have teammates around me and I don't have to do too much over my head."
Sure, he has limitations. He's not going to knock down a 17-foot jumper or overwhelm you with athleticism. But seven games into his senior year, there doesn't seem to be very much at all that's over his head.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of five books on Carolina basketball, including the just-released book on the 2009 national title, One Fantastic Ride. Get real-time UNC sports updates from the THM staff on Twitter.
