Petrie's first impression of Thompson didn't last

The early signs didn't point to this.

Not the late ones either, for that matter.

First there was Geoff Petrie in Southern California on Feb. 23 to see Jason Thompson, the Rider forward whose versatile game intrigued the Kings' basketball president enough to warrant a visit. One of 12 NBA reps in the stands of a "Bracket Buster" faceoff, Petrie watched as Thompson was held to 11 points against Cal State Northridge. Petrie left the game early.

Thompson, it appeared, wasn't destined to join the Kings.

But the overall impression would eventually eliminate the aberration, with Thompson a near-certain 20-point, 10-rebound producer every night and leading to the Kings inviting him to a workout in Sacramento this month. When the Mount Laurel, N.J., native arrived at the airport, his luggage was nowhere to be found.

That, of course, meant his monstrous size-18 sneakers weren't available for this most important of sessions.

"(The Kings) had Nikes in 18 and adidas in (size) 20s," Thompson said of his borrowed footwear.

He went with the 20s and went on to impress, making it the only theme the Kings would like to see continue.

The question of Thompson and how quickly he can grow into the big shoes of the Kings' power forward spot took official relevance Saturday, when the 21-year-old picked 12th overall in Thursday's draft was introduced to the local media. He was joined by the team's two second-round picks - Virginia point guard Sean Singletary and Georgetown forward Patrick Ewing Jr.

Thompson's presence was as much the result of sheer circumstance as choice. The Kings, they don't mind admitting, certainly considered filling their point guard void through the draft rather than adding a fifth power forward. But Texas' D.J. Augustin was gone, and so was Arizona's Jerryd Bayless, and Thompson was sitting there as a potential answer to the most glaring of rebounding and physicality deficiencies.

Even if that answer came from the smallest of schools and played in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Thompson - who averaged 20.4 points, was ranked second nationally with 12.1 rebounds and had 2.7 blocks per game as a senior - becomes the first Rider player drafted in the NBA. He will be the first Rider player to play in the league since Herb Krautblatt of the Baltimore Bullets in 1948-49. Having grown up in Mount Laurel and gone just 31 miles to play in a 1,650-seat gymnasium in Lawrenceville, N.J., at Rider, Thompson said he's proud of his route to the pros.

"To come out of Rider after four years with a (communications) degree means a whole lot," Thompson said inside the Kings' practice facility. "It means a lot to me, the people around me,my parents, my family....It doesn't matter the name of the school you go to. If you have the talent, the heart, the hard work you put in, it shouldn't matter what school you go to. You should have a chance to reach your dream."

According to Kings director of player personnel Jerry Reynolds, regional scout Keith Drum was the first to see Thompson in person. At a LeBron James basketball camp last summer in Akron, Ohio, Drum watched as Thompson produced against the betterknown talent.

"I think he's ready (for the NBA)," Reynolds said. "Obviously, I'm biased. I've watched him in all the workouts and everything else. I think he's really ready to trot out there and play." The expectation, of course, is that he'll play better than the game against Northridge that led to Petrie's early exit.

"He didn't dominate the game," Petrie recalled. "It was a close game. He got in foul trouble, so he was in and out of the game. But you could see he had talent. Like I said, you never (evaluate a player) off one look."

About the writer:

• Read Sam Amick's Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.