The Bahamas Basketball Federation (BBF) has started the run to its historic '40 Greatest' week of celebration. The annual high school basketball classic, the Hugh Campbell Tournament, is winding down.
Basketball is in the air. To make the connection for readers during the countdown to the August 4-9 event, which will honor the greatest in the game from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, in this space many of the stars and franchises of the past will be featured. Today, in the spotlight is Mychal (formerly simply Michael) 'Sweet Bells' Thompson.
Most remembered by those close to the game of basketball, is the fact that Thompson was drafted No. 1 in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1978. He signed with the Portland Trail Blazers and also achieved First Team All-Rookie status, and later won two championships with the mighty Los Angeles Lakers.
When all was said and done however, it was his collegiate career that enabled him to be more comparable with the greatest who ever played the game, in the United States or anywhere else.
Kevin McHale, who played with Thompson at the University of Minnesota, once commented, in essence, that the player he observed in college, he felt was capable of moving to the top level as an individual competitor in the NBA. Well, while Thompson was indeed a rock-solid player, if there is a disappointment, his inability to achieve NBA superstar status would be that.
As a collegiate athlete it was a far different story. He was one of the best ever. You can go down the list, including Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Elvin Hayes, Bill Walton, David Thompson, Earvin 'Magic' Johnson, Larry Bird, Larry Johnson, and come to that same conclusion.
Following the 1977-78 season, when the city of Minneapolis celebrated Mychal Thompson Day, he was able to look back on iconic accomplishments. To begin with, he was the Minnesota Gophers' Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the third time. He was a First Team selection by United Press International, signifying one of the five best in the nation. He was the Big Ten Conference First Team member for the third time.
Thompson owned an array of Minnesota and Big Ten records. Among them were: Most points - 1,992; best per game average - 20.8; most field goals - 823; best field goal percentage - .568; most free throws attempted - 500; and most rebounds - 956.
His Big Ten records for a Minnesota player were: most points - 1,477; best scoring average - 21.7; most field goals - 616; most field goal attempts - 1,072; best field goal percentage - .575; most free throws attempted - 364; and most rebounds - 697.
Thompson is right up there with Lou Hudson and Jim Brewer as the best Gophers in history. For The Bahamas and the Bahamas Basketball Federation, the names of nominees for the '40 Greatest' during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, keep coming in.
It is a safe bet that Thompson will be among the 40 who will be saluted in grand fashion on banquet night, August 9.
Will he also end up among the top five? The future holds that answer.
(To respond to this column, kindly contact Fred Sturrup at sturrup1504@gmail.com)
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