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Improved Thompson makes mark for YSU
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Youngstown State’s Melissa Thompson (23) dribbles upcourt after grabbing a rebound during a recent game. Thompson and the Penguins are preparing for Saturday’s game against Butler.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
As Youngstown State sophomore guard Melissa Thompson prepared to face reporters for the first time on Monday, her coach, Bob Boldon, did his best to be a kind, nurturing father figure.
“Make sure you shine the lights right into her eyes,” he said, grinning.
Thompson did well, proving for the second time this week that Boldon has good instincts on when Thompson is ready for a big moment.
After Boldon inserted her into the starting lineup for the first time on Thursday, Thompson responded with a career-high 14 points in an 80-67 win over Detroit. Then, in Saturday’s 71-66 overtime loss to Wright State, she had eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
“It’s great to see a kid who fought back from injury, spent a whole year rehabbing and didn’t get a lot of minutes last year keep her head right,” Boldon said. “Melissa’s taken preparation very seriously, she has a better understanding of what teams are doing and her shot has improved immensely over the past year.
“Just taking those parts of her game and adding it to the athleticism she brings made her the right person for the position at the time.”
The 5-foot-8 Thompson, a Solon High graduate, missed her freshman year with a torn ACL, then played in 19 games as a redshirt freshman last year, scoring 18 points in limited minutes. Her role has gradually expanded this season as her confidence and knowledge increased.
“I have a better understanding of what Coach Boldon wants and a better feel for what the team we’re playing is trying to do,” Thompson said. “So I understand what we’re trying to do on defense and I’m better able to make plays.”
Plus, she said, she’s in better shape.
“After my injury, I wasn’t in the shape I needed to be,” she said.
Thompson is one of the most athletic players on the team, which may have hurt her development early in her career, Boldon said.
“I think the hardest thing for good athletes to do in college is not just rely on their athleticism,” he said. “For somebody like me, who’s slow by nature, I’ve got to figure out a plan or I have no chance.
“If I was as fast as Melissa, my life would have been a lot better in high school and college because I would have scored more points.”
Thompson laughed at Boldon’s comments — “I think I’m athletic, but he thinks I’m really athletic,” she said — and added, “I would never say he’s slow as a basketball player.”
Thompson’s development doesn’t guarantee a starting spot for the rest of the season. (Only junior forward Brandi Brown and senior guard Kenya Middlebrooks have started all 19 games.) But she said she’s fine with whatever role Boldon chooses.
“It feels good to start but whether I’m coming off the bench or I’m starting, I’m going to give what I have,” she said. “If I have to come off the bench to help the team, that’s fine.”
Besides, she has two more seasons to worry about whether she starts.
This season, she’s more concerned with how YSU finishes.
“I’m just glad I’ve been able to help the team,” she said. “We played hard all weekend and I learned a lot. We definitely know if we can play with energy, we can stay with every team in the conference.”