Race Thompson looking like himself again: 'I’m really just happy and grateful to be here.'

BLOOMINGTON — This was one of those games. An ugly, uninspiring Big Ten battle. IU shot better than Illinois from the field at… 43.9%. There were 25 combined turnovers. More than 30 combined fouls.

Against a shorthanded Illinois team — playing without Terrence Shannon Jr. — Indiana slept-walked through the first half and trailed by three at the break. 

“Coach just ripped us,” Trayce Jackson-Davis said. “He told us that we've got to start playing harder, we've got to get these 50-50 balls if we want to win, and we did that down the stretch.”

This win — if it was going to happen for Indiana — would require toughness. Grit and resilience.

That description sounds a lot like an Indiana player: Race Thompson.

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On Saturday, Thompson made the plays required — as did others — to help Indiana gut out a 71-68 win over Illinois. Thompson filled a hole that had been missing at various points this season. Having a dependable big man in the supporting role of Jackson-Davis. Thompson finished the game with 10 points and six rebounds. For the second consecutive game, Thompson looked like himself again.

“I think he's coming along smoothly,” IU coach Mike Woodson said.

Thompson’s performance Saturday isn’t necessarily the type that will garner major headlines. You might not truly appreciate the importance of those numbers unless they are gone. But for more than two weeks, they were.

Thompson suffered a knee injury during Indiana’s game against Iowa in early January. It was an unsettling sight: an Iowa player crashing into Thompson, bending his leg awkwardly. He sat on the floor holding his knee.  

“When it first happened, I thought it was pretty much over with,” Thompson said. “The way it felt, the way I knew it looked. I pretty much thought my career (at IU) was a wrap.” 

This was yet another challenge, not only in the scope of this season, which had already seen senior point guard Xavier Johnson go down with a foot injury, but in the broader context of a player’s career. Thompson has been in the IU program since 2017. At IU, he has endured multiple injuries, a head coaching change and an evolving role. More than once, he has had the opportunity to leave the program. More than once, he has decided to stay.

For a player that has already been through a lot, the injury this season brought out an introspective side of Thompson that is not usually shown.

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“Coming back, I have even more intensity and want to practice every day, want to be here,” Thompson said. “Because with that moment of — the flash of here being done. Just being grateful to be able to continue to play here and have the last couple of months just to be with the guys, be able to play, be healthy.”

The injury turned out to be less severe than it initially looked. Thompson returned to game action against Michigan State — a little more than two weeks after going down at Iowa. But for the first handful of games, he didn’t look like himself, the usually consistent big man.

But in his first six games back, he only scored in double-figures once. He wore a bulky knee brace. Then against Michigan, he wasn’t in uniform because of his knee as a precaution. 

Thompson returned Wednesday against Northwestern, where he played without the brace, scoring 13 points as IU ultimately fell in dramatic fashion. Then came Saturday, where Thompson yet again was an important part of what Indiana did, something that has become a familiar sight.

“Race is a great player, and he helps our team a lot,” Jackson-Davis said. “It's hard for him. I know it is, especially mentally, because he wants to be out there. Even if he says he's good, he's 100%, I know he's still going through some things. But he's playing as hard as he can, and that's what we need from him. He's starting to get back healthy, and he had a lot of big buckets today.”

Thompson playing at the level he is capable of is important for many reasons. One, it gives Indiana another veteran presence. Thompson — along with Miller Kopp and Jackson-Davis — have a lot of experience at the college level. That can be key down the stretch of the season, especially in late-game situations.

But it also gives Indiana a steadier presence alongside Jackson-Davis. Freshman Malik Reneau is coming along nicely after an up-and-down season. Jordan Geronimo has played well in spurts. But those two are wildly inconsistent and can be foul-prone. It’s difficult to know what you’re going to get on a given day from those two.

At his best, Thompson gives IU a lower-risk option. That means if Reneau or Geronimo have off games, Thompson can be there. It could also afford Jackson-Davis, who has been taking on a nearly unfathomable amount of playing time, to take a break.

That's why Thompson's 10 points and six rebounds on Saturday might feel more seismic than they initially look.

“I feel like I saw my whole career flash before my eyes,” Thompson said of his injury. “And with it not being over and still being able to play, I think I’m just grateful every day to come here, lift, be able to put extra work in, be able to practice with the guys. I think I’m really just happy and grateful to be here.”

Indiana is, too.