Washington State's Klay Thompson is lighting up scoreboards in the Pac-10, and that has many people wondering if he will jump to the NBA after this season.
The son of former NBA star Mychal Thompson, Klay is leading the Pac-10 with an average of 22 points per game as Washington State (14-6, 4-4) remains in the hunt for an NCAA berth. The Cougars face No. 18 Washington on Sunday in a key test.
''He's going to go down as one of the greatest players ever to come out of Washington State,'' said second-year coach Ken Bone, who inherited Thompson after taking over from Tony Bennett.
Like many players in his position, the 20-year-old Thompson said he is not spending much time thinking about the NBA.
''It's not that big a distraction,'' the 6-foot-6 junior guard said. ''It will be at the end of the season. I've got to examine all my options and see where my stock is after the season ends. That's a big decision for me.''
He's got plenty of expert advice. Mychal Thompson was the No. 1 pick in the 1978 draft, played 12 years in the NBA and won three titles with the Los Angeles Lakers.
''He's been through it all,'' Klay Thompson said. ''When I have a question about the game or the next level, I always turn to my dad, which is nice.''
Bone seems resigned that Thompson will not play in Pullman another year.
''We'd love to have him, obviously, for another year,'' Bone said. ''But if he gets his opportunity to go to the NBA, he's like anybody else, he will do it.''
Bone said WSU fans should hustle to see Thompson in his remaining five home games.
''Sometimes it does surprise me that more people don't come out to watch him, because he is spectacular,'' Bone said.
The Cougars are averaging 7,025 fans in their 11,000-seat arena this season. That doesn't include the numerous NBA scouts who have come to see Thompson.
He already ranks fourth on the WSU career scoring list with 1,467 points, just 29 behind Mark Hendrickson. He's likely to move past Don Collins (1,563) into third place before the season is over.
Thompson was born in Los Angeles. His older brother, Mychel, plays basketball at Pepperdine. Younger brother Trayce was chosen in the second round of the 2009 baseball draft by the Chicago White Sox.
The Cougars were the only Pac-10 team to offer Thompson a scholarship. It didn't hurt that under Bennett, the Cougars had won 26 games each of the previous two seasons and made the NCAA tournament.
''I was really drawn to this place knowing it was in the Pac-10 and I was able to play early,'' said Thompson, whose quiet demeanor seems well-suited to tiny Pullman.
He was a starter from his first game in a WSU uniform, averaging 12 points per game as the Cougars went 17-16 and reached the NIT. Bennett left after that for Virginia, and Bone was hired from Portland State.
Bone loosened the reins on the offense, with Thompson as the primary weapon. He averaged 19.6 points per game last season, leading the country in scoring for a time.
With Thompson forced to carry too much of the scoring load last season, Bone recruited junior college transfer Faisal Aden as an additional threat. Aden is averaging 14 points per game.
Thompson has scored at least 30 points three times this season. He's shooting 46 percent from the floor and 42 percent from 3-point range.
He had a season-high 36 in a loss at California. He scored 29 in a win over Oregon State.
''Each year he adds something new to his arsenal,'' Beavers coach Craig Robinson said.
This season it is creating his own shots, and dishing the ball more. Thompson leads the Cougars with 4.4 assists per game, and adds 5.5 rebounds.
Thompson has failed to score in double figures only once this season. That was last Saturday's 65-63 loss to Arizona. Thompson was held to nine points on 4-of-16 shooting and missed a 12-footer at the buzzer that would have tied the game.
His coach and teammates were quick to defend their star afterward.
''You always want the ball in the hands of your best playmaker,'' teammate DeAngelo Casto said. ''We shouldn't have been down two points with 6 or 7 seconds left. He took a good shot.''
The Cougars can build their case for an NCAA bid by beating archrival Washington on Sunday. Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar said Thompson's game has grown tremendously since his freshman year.
''He gets a lot of steals; he's second in the league in assists; he gets to the foul line and can put the ball on the floor and drive it now,'' Romar said. ''He's evolved into so much more of a complete basketball player.''
Thompson would like to experience an NCAA tournament, and is aware a win over the Huskies would impress the selection committee.
''We need this one on our resume,'' he said.
