Pioneers’ Thompson trying to boost stock

Las Vegas Prospects coach Anthony Brown is used to talented guards coming through his summer basketball program.

If the team had a Hall of Fame, it would include local high school products on college rosters such as Mojave’s Anthony Marshall (UNLV), Cheyenne’s Elijah Johnson (Kansas) and Bishop Gorman’s Johnathan Loyd (Oregon).

Michael Thompson of Canyon Springs could be next in line.

“He’ll be mentioned among those guys later on, definitely,” Brown said. “He’ll come from that same cloth as our past guys.”

Thompson, an athletic point guard, is one of the top local prospects in the 2011 class after a breakout junior season in which he led the Pioneers to the Class 4A state final, where they lost 69-48 to Gorman.

Canyon Springs finished 26-4, and Thompson earned second-team all-state honors after averaging 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

This week, Thompson is trying to boost his recruiting stock in front of college coaches while playing for the Prospects 17s in the adidas Super 64.

He had 13 points in a 65-51 loss to Eric Gordon Fast Break (Ind.) on Friday morning at Rancho and later scored 12 in a 68-66 win over Houston Elite.

Thompson is known for his craftiness at getting to the basket, a quality he displayed by attempting 13 free throws in Friday’s first game, sinking eight.

“I see myself as mainly a slasher, to penetrate and score or dish it off to my teammates,” Thompson said.

Brown called the 6-foot-2-inch Thompson a “phenomenal” athlete.

“They have a hard time playing in front of him,” Brown said. “He can create shots, get fouled and get in the lane.”

Thompson is still awaiting a Division I scholarship offer but said he has received interest from Boise State, Detroit, Murray State, Oregon, Pepperdine and Southern Methodist.

Brown fully expects Thompson to land somewhere, and he has had a front-row glimpse of how recruiting can change rapidly.

Loyd entered last summer with offers only from Northern Arizona and Weber State. By the time the April signing period rolled around, he was choosing between Oregon, UNLV and Northwestern.

“(Thompson) will go to school for free, and that’s the main objective,” Brown said.

Thompson is eager to get back into the high school season and bury the memory of the loss to Gorman in the state title game in February in Reno.

As the Gaels received their state championship medals at midcourt, Thompson stood with his jersey wrapped over his face, unable to watch a painful end to what had been a joyride season.

“I was disappointed in myself because we lost,” he said of that moment. “I just didn’t want to see Gorman celebrate. I wanted us to be in that winning circle so I could celebrate with my teammates.”

In Thompson, guard D.J. Anderson and wing Jared Brandon, the Pioneers will boast one of the best trios of seniors in the state, and they’ll have a chance to be in that winning circle after all.

“I would hope the kids feel like they have unfinished business to take care of,” Canyon Springs coach Daryl Branham said.

There is no doubt at least one player feels that way.