Pro Buckeyes In Asia Part Four - Catching Up With Sam Thompson !

 

(Online Image - December 2023 - Mongolian Club Darkhan United Officially Announced Signing Of Buckeye Pro Sam Thompson for the 2023/2024 Season) 

(Pro Buckeyes In Asia 2024 - From L To R  - Amir Williams - Malaysia - Evan Ravenel - Japan - Jared Sullinger - China - Sam Thompson - Mongolia) 

Our fourth & last installment of the Buckeyes In Asia series lands us in Genghis Khan's former stomping grounds to catch up with veteran Sam Thompson!

Sam Thompson (Age 33) -- Ohio State Buckeye (2011-2015) -- Years Pro: 9 -- Current Club - Darkhan United (Mongolia) -- Experience: NBA G-League (USA), Hungary, Italy, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, New Zealand

Catching Up With Sam: Simply put, Sam Thompson was/is one of the most entertaining highflyers to ever don the Scarlet & Gray uniform of The Ohio State Basketball. There has obviously been several guys with hops to come through Columbus, but the moment Thompson came in and started throwing down dunks as a Freshman, we all knew we were witnessing something quite different. We knew Sam was HIM, as the kids like to say today.                                                                                                                                                      It's easy to add the superlatives about Sam finishing at the rim as he really was a walking highlight reel. But aside from his god given leaping ability, we knew his basketball acumen as a savvy 6'7 shooting guard/wing would allow him to flourish in whatever basketball environment his skills would lead him to. At age 33, Thompson is now a seasoned professional with extensive experience playing in the NBA G-League as well as overseas stops around the world in Europe, Asia, Central America & Oceania.

G-League Mainstay - We always rated Sam Thompson in & around the same class & caliber of players like Othello Hunter, Ron Lewis, David Lighty, Jon Diebler ect..who all possessed good ability & potential to play in the NBA. But as most know, the exclusive nature of the most elite basketball entity in the world requires players on the league fringe/bubble to find that right opportunity & situation at the right exact time to capture a coveted roster spot & ultimately become perennial NBA player. 

In Sam's case, it was not for a lack of trying, because we have to check the overall records, but Thompson might have perhaps the most NBA G-League experience of any professional Buckeye ever with 193 career G-League games under his belt spanning four different teams from 2015 to 2023 (with overseas play in between these seasons as well). Sam started in 86 of those 193 games with an average of 25.2 minutes, 8.2 points & 4 rebounds per game.  The Chicago native's stick-to-itiveness in returning to play in front of NBA personnel in the States via the G-League may have came from getting a small taste of league action to begin his pro journey as a Rookie.                                                                                                                                                                                              Following his career at Ohio State, Sam would sign a training camp contract with the Charlotte Hornets as an undrafted free agent. He appeared in five games with the Hornets (Left - Getty Images - Sam Thompson as a Charlotte Hornet vs LA Clippers) in the 2015 NBA Pre-season, logging a total of 37 minutes,  6 points, 2 steals & one rebound on an NBA court. But Charlotte ultimately did not have a roster spot for Thompson, thus kicking off the first of several stints in the G-League. (we still wish we would have download those few games where Thompson scored in a Hornets uniform!) Sam's G-League Stats/Club History.

We admittedly did not get to watch many of Sam's G-League games. But his total of games started, average of minutes & overall numbers indicate a core rotational player who was integral in helping his teams win with the individual capability of busting out as a game leader in points. And this is the type of role one would envision for a player with Sam's skillset on a court with NBA level competition..a core role player..perhaps a sixth man or guy who can provide energy off the bench as a two way player. 

                                                                                                        

Frequent Flyer Miles: The Charlotte Hornets franchise must have remained intrigued with Sam Thompson's ability as he would round out the 2010's decade with stints in Hungary (2016/2017), Lebanon (2017) followed by back to back seasons with the Charlotte affiliate Greensboro Swarm of the G-League (2017-2019).                                                                                                       But the 2020's is when Sam started to exercise his passport more frequently with stops in Italy (2020-2021 - 30 games), New Zealand (2021-2022 - 14 games), Lithuania (2022-2023 - 8 games) before returning to the states to finish out the 2023 season with the G-League's Sioux Falls Skyforce.                                                                                                                                                                             

Current Affairs: Sam Thompson began his 2023 pro campaign in the Dominican Republic with club Marineros of Puerto Plata. But it's fairly common for players/agencies to switch overseas teams throughout the season. And after four games of play in the DR, Thompson signed with Mongolian club Darkhan United (in December 2023) where he played to the end of the regular season in January 2024. This is not Sam's first experience on the Asian continent as he previously in the ASEAN Basketball League in 2020 in between G-League stints. As detailed in our last piece on Amir Williams. The ABL is an annual short regional tournament featuring Far East Asian countries that plays from November to March. Sam played with the Saigon Heat and was an All-ASEAN League Honorable Mention.                                                                                                                                                                                                              When thinking about professional ball overseas, Mongolia might be one of the last countries that comes to mind. But as we've noted, the sport of basketball is experiencing exponentially growth all across the Asian continent. Some familiar American names currently hooping in the Mongolian league include Diamond Stone (Maryland), Kalin Lucas (Michigan State), Durrell Summers (Michigan State), Keith Benson (Oakland), Jericole Hellems (NC State), and of course our Sam Thompson (Ohio State). Thompson's club finished the regular season with an 8-16 record, failing to make the league playoffs. Sam played in 12 games with Darkhan, averaging 18 points & 5 rebounds a game. ST had four 20 plus point scoring games including a season high 30 point performance on January 23, 2024!

(Videos)

- 25 point game in New Zealand (Clips)

- 36 point game in the ABL (Clips)

- 27 point game in the ABL (Clips)

- Podcast Interview on Drive The Lane