Taking A Look at Indiana Commit Race Thompson

Race Thompson, a 6-8 forward from Minneapolis, Minnesota announced his commitment to the Hoosiers via Twitter on July 16th. Thompson intends to reclassify from the class of 2018 to 2017 and will enroll starting this fall.

Thompson becomes the first recruit to commit to Indiana under new head coach Archie Miller. Keep in mind that this is not counting the three signees Miller conceived to stay with the program following Tom Crean’s departure from Indiana.

Thompson visited IU in June and had for some time been considered a top frontcourt target for Miller and his staff in 2018. The four-star recruit also had offers from Minnesota, Iowa State, Arizona State, Michigan, Baylor and others. He is ranked No. 86 on 247Sports recruiting and is ranked as the top power forward in Minnesota and fourth at his position in the Midwest region.

Thompson will now join the Hoosiers a year earlier than expected. Thompson comes an athletic family. His father, Darrell Thompson, was a RB for the University of Minnesota and also for the Green Bay Packers.

Now that the Hoosiers have added Thompson, what can we expect from the four-star forward? First off, Thompson brings size at the forward position at 6-foot-8, 200 pounds. Thompson has the potential ability to play on the perimeter as well as battle in the paint.

In high school and on the AAU Circuit Thompson played more on the perimeter, he also showed that he can put the ball on the floor and get by defenders and finish at the rim. Thompson often demonstrated that he can take the ball himself on the fast break, and can knock down three-pointers. For a big guy his handle is impressive and allows for him to become a versatile forward in the half-court.

On Thompson’s highlight reel he displayed his ability to use his strength, athleticism and quickness to score in the post. Thompson’s post moves will need to some fine-tuning at the Big Ten level as opponents will match his strength and athletic talents. Thompson will have some work to do in the weight room, but his touch around the rim is excellent, as he often showed the ability to make tough fadeaway shots in the post.

Check out some of his highlights here:

As far as the rest of the Indiana roster goes, the adding of Thompson was crucial with the Hoosiers losing three of its top four leading scorers from last year. Thomas Bryant, James Blackmon Jr. and OG Anunoby all left school early for the NBA. Getting Thompson a year earlier than expected is a huge boost for Miller in his first year on the sideline for the Hoosiers.