By Matthew Barnes
Asbury senior Trenton Thompson was recently the recipient of the Male Athlete of the Year award for the River States Conference. He is becoming quite decorated, having also made the All-River States Conference First Team and being named an NAIA Division II First Team All-American.
Thompson had a phenomenal junior season, ranking second in the country in scoring at 26.8 points per game, in addition to racking up 8.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. He put up these numbers while also shooting 53 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arc.
“I definitely have to thank Coach Shouse and Coach Abner. Out of high school, I didn’t really have the looks that I thought I deserved, and they put me in a position here at Asbury and gave me a good chance to succeed,” Thompson said.
When asked about upcoming goals, Thompson wants the Eagles to be Top 25 in the nation, go for the conference championship and hopefully get into the national tournament.
“Individually, I’ll be receiving a lot of attention and double-teams, and I think this will open up doors for me to help my teammates and get them better looks,” Thompson said.
Thompson received a call from Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Mark Whitworth during mid-summer letting him know he won the award.
“I didn’t have his number, so I didn’t pick up. I heard his voicemail telling me to call him back and thought, ‘What is he doing calling me?’ I called him back, and he was really excited for me and the upcoming season,” Thompson said.
As far as personal goals in his senior year, Thompson really wants to win National Player of the Year, thinking it would be beneficial for him to continue his basketball career if that’s what God wants.
Thompson and the Eagles kick off their season on Oct. 23 and play in their first home game on Oct. 26 against Florida National University.
