Bryce Thompson More Confident Heading Into Junior Season After Strong Summer

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State lost multiple pieces from last year’s team to the transfer portal, but the pieces that returned were a bigger win than the pieces that transferred were a loss. Mike Boynton and Co. were able to hold onto the Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year in Moussa Cisse, an explosive two-year starting guard in Avery Anderson III and one of the best mid-range shooters in the conference in Bryce Thompson.

Thompson was certainly one of the more hyped high school prospects coming out of the 2020 class. He was a McDonald’s All-American, the Gatorade Oklahoma Boys Basketball Player of the Year following both his junior and senior seasons, while averaging 44.2 points per game across those two seasons. He was the No. 19 overall ranked prospect according to Rivals and the No. 4 overall combo guard according to 247Sports.

But things didn’t go quite as he planned them in his lone season at Kansas as he spent a majority of the season injured before transferring to OSU ahead of the 2021 season.

For the most part, Thompson played a pivotal role for the Pokes this past season as he averaged 10.6 points a game, while shooting 41% from the floor and scored double figures in 15 of the 29 games he played in. He also dropped 19 points on the road in the upset of then No. 1 Baylor, the only time the Cowboys have beaten a No. 1 team on the road in school history.

Despite his successes last year, there were moments where he struggled as he shot just 66% from the free throw line and 29% from three-point range. While scoring double figures in 15 games is impressive, there were a few times in the 14 games of single digit scoring where he failed to clear seven points.

I have Tom Dirato on my radio show every Wednesday afternoon and he’s said for the past few months that Thompson has made several strides in his game, including from the free throw line and further solidifying his mid-range game, and has had an incredible summer.

Mike Boynton met with the media on Tuesday, and he concurred with Dirato.

"Bryce [Thompson] probably had as good a summer of anybody I've been around in terms of really understanding how to be himself,” said coach Boynton. “Bryce, in many ways, looks different, but had a similar experience to Moussa (Cisse). McDonald’s All-American, Mr. Basketball in this state, goes away to a blue blood, but doesn't have the success, comes home, and the expectations probably for him into a new environment and teammates and all that. You know, probably a little bit out of whack, but again, the kids can't accept that. It's a mental game for them. But again, him too, he’s settled. He had a tremendous summer. I think he trimmed down about 4% off his body fat. He's playing with a lot of confidence. And I think he's back to being the confident basketball player that he was in high school, but with an understanding of how to do it at the college level."

The moments Thompson was on and clicking in the 2021 season were spectacular, especially from the mid-range. If we get a more confident, consistent and improved Thompson this season, combined with a more confident, consistent and improved Avery Anderson III and Moussa Cisse, who both have improved their games over the summer as well, the 2022-23 season should be a fun one to watch.