Indiana’s Race Thompson announced Thursday that he will return for the 2022-23 season.
Thompson made the announcement via his Twitter account.
Let’s Run It Back! ??? pic.twitter.com/xFFd3DUfbR
— Race Thompson (@RaceThompson1) April 14, 2022
Originally a member of the 2018 recruiting class, Thompson committed to Indiana on July 16, 2017.
Rather than finishing out his high school career at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School in Minnesota, Thompson opted to reclassify and enroll a year early at IU.
Thompson redshirted the 2017-18 season and suited up in the candy stripes for the first time in Miller’s second season. His first Indiana season was marred by injuries. He logged four minutes in Indiana’s second game of the season – an 80-35 blowout win over Montana State – and then didn’t play again until the Minnesota game on Feb. 16.
His most notable moment as a redshirt freshman came when he logged 22 minutes and grabbed seven rebounds in a 75-73 double-overtime win over Wisconsin at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. For the majority of that game, Thompson more than held his own defensively against Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ, one of the Big Ten’s toughest frontcourt covers.
His role expanded as a redshirt sophomore as he appeared in 29 games and averaged 3.7 points and 3.9 rebounds. Thompson’s potential was finally realized last season when Miller finally inserted him in the starting lineup and he blossomed as a productive contributor alongside Trayce Jackson-Davis.
In the 2020-21 season, Miller’s last in Bloomington, Thompson averaged 9.1 points and 6.2 rebounds in 28.1 minutes per game. He started all 27 of the team’s games despite suffering a face injury that forced him to wear a mask over the final five games.
Last season, Mike Woodson’s first at Indiana, Thompson averaged 11.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and shot 53.6 percent from the field last season for Indiana in 35 games. Over 100 career games for the Hoosiers, Thompson has averaged 7.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per game.
Now the steady forward will return for a sixth season in Bloomington after helping the Hoosiers reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2016.
Filed to: Race Thompson