Jon Thompson, with his famous last name, is trying to create his own legacy at Rider/ Photo by JOHN BLAINE

LAWRENCEVILLE — By now Jon Thompson is used to the question.

“Are you related to Jason and Ryan?”

It’s a perfectly natural question to ask. Thompson may be the most famous surname at Rider University.

After all, Jason turned a brilliant college career into the 12th pick of the 2008 NBA Draft and Ryan is playing professionally abroad.

“Oh man, like everyday,” said Thompson when asked how often he had to answer that question.

Over these past four seasons, Thompson, who’s from Orlando, Fla., and has no relation to Jason and Ryan, has been working to carve out his own legacy.

Thompson’s gone from little known reserve with a famous last name, to the key cog in coach Kevin Baggett’s current version of the Broncs.

Even Baggett, then an assistant when Thompson arrived on campus, said they didn’t see the 6-foot-4 guard as more than a role player.

Well, role player he is not.
 

“His leadership,” Baggett said, “we count on that.”

Thompson’s had to grow into the role. He’s learned to be more vocal and take accountability for his actions, having once run afoul of the NCAA and earning himself a four-game suspension that included the 2010-11 conference tournament and first two games of the 2011-12 season.

“It’s definitely a responsibility being a senior captain,” said Thompson, admitting the biggest challenge was learning to speak up and be a vocal leader. “We live with me and die with me.”

He’s also turned out to be a pretty darn good player. Thompson is averaging a career-best 11.5 points per game, scoring in double figures in six of his last seven contests. He also leads the team in minutes (32.5) and assists (3.2) per game.

Thompson credits assistant coach Lou Rowe for his recent success. Rowe, a highly regarded scorer himself at James Madison with a long professional resume overseas, gave him some simple advice.

“Coach Rowe is my ear,” said Thompson, who matched a career-high 23 points in the win over Marist that snapped a three-game Rider losing streak. “The last couple games, he just kept telling me to be aggressive.”

There’s a sense of urgency to his play that Baggett appreciates because Thompson understands better than anyone that time is running out on his college career.

The Broncs have seven games remaining, not including the conference tournament.

“When it’s all said and done with, he’ll go away being Jon Thompson,” Baggett said. “He’ll go down in Rider history as one of those guys who maximized his ability.”

Thompson wants to create a legacy unique to him.

“I’m different,” he said. “More a defender. A guy who scraps. Hopefully, they will remember me through that.”

Then he thinks about that original question: “Are you related to Jason and Ryan?” and smiles.

“It still hasn’t ended,” he said.

While fans are unlikely to put him in the same class as Jason and Ryan talent-wise, he still has three days in March at the MAAC tournament to lead this team somewhere those two never did.

Now that would be some legacy.