Just got back from the airport, where I watched the last hour or so of Rider practice and manged to avoid being attacked by any wild animals. ... Just kidding. The raccoons don't come out till after dark, and practice was over by 5:30.

Anyway, a few tidbits:

* Freshman wing Jonathan Thompson is still nursing an ankle injury that kept him limited at times during workotus last month, but the kid can really get up and down the floor. Tommy Dempsey told me Thompson is about 80 percent, but he got baseline-to-baseline just about as quickly as anyone. The kid also has a heck of a nice stroke from the perimeter.

* Freshman point guard Carl Johnson had surgery over the summer after a freak accident left his right arm badly cut and some nerves damaged. The surgery was a success, but he's still gaining back his shooting touch.

* This should surprise virtually no one, but Ryan Thompson looked like a man playing against boys. On three straight possessions -- one in transition, two in half-court sets -- he took the ball to the hoop virtually uncontested.