Nick Morgan – Sports Editor
Just as it seemed that his playing career in the purple and white had come to an end, senior forward Trent Thompson learned he had one more game to represent the Eagles. The three-time all-conference player accepted an invitation to play in the NAIA All-Star Basketball Game on March 26 in Kansas City, Missouri. Thompson will be joined by fellow River States Conference (RSC) players Elisha Boone out of West Virginia Tech and Blake Walsman from Cincinnati Christian University in the trip to the all-star game.
Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Mark Whitworth said, “This is a perfect illustration of the fact that you can come to be a student athlete at Asbury University and still compete at the highest level, … and for us to have representation at this all-star game is a great representation and reflection of the quality of our basketball program and our university as well.”
Thompson averaged 22.5 points per game last season on 48.3 percent shooting, along with a team high 8.5 rebounds per game. Thompson also received his third consecutive all-conference selection in his senior campaign. Last season, he added a 2017-18 RSC Player of the Year award to his résumé, as well as an NAIA first-team all-american selection.
“I absolutely want to thank Coach [Will] Shouse and Coach [Russell] Abner for getting me to where I am,” said Thompson. “When I came out of high school, I was not the player I am today. I enjoyed being an all-american and conference player of the year, but this is special for me because this [game] includes the top players from NAIA DI and DII, so to be selected to represent in Kansas City is something else.”
According to Thompson, his days of playing ball are far from over. He’s continuing to work out and train five days a week and plans on signing with an agent and attending a few combines to get a chance to continue his career overseas.
“I don’t want to see the day where the ball stops bouncing,” said Thompson.
