There is more to “Omaha” than a Peyton Manning audible. Back in the day it was Dean Thompson Jr. who was synonymous with the school’s basketball success: he set a school record for career PTS, was top-5 in AST/STL, and was even named All-American/conference POY. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Dean about all of his amazing accomplishments. Today marks the 40th anniversary of the final game of Dean’s college career, a 3-PT win over Northern Michigan in the D-2 tourney on : March 10, 1984, so we take this time to look back at a legend.
You played in 3 Nebraska Class A tourney finals with Omaha Westside and won it all in 1980: what did it mean to you to win a title? It was a lot of fun, as I have always loved the game: it is 1 of the highlights of my career.
Your dad Dean Sr. played basketball at Omaha: how big of an influence was he on your own college decision? He is a huge influence in general: I got to watch him play and read his clippings, and he still plays in his late-70s! I made my own decision on what was the best fit, but he was certainly a factor.
What are your memories of the 1982 D-2 tourney (9-PT win over Lewis)? They had an All-American player who was very good. In those days the regional was always very competitive…and it was very cold in North Dakota.
What are your memories of the 1983 D-2 tourney (1-PT loss to Morningside)? My wife always tells me that I remember too many details about my career. We had a great rivalry with them, and they went to the Final 4 that year. There was a block/charge call late in the game, and the ref actually called a block before changing his mind and calling a charge.
What are your memories of the 1984 D-2 tourney (3-PT win over Northern Michigan)? We had a top-10 team for a good chunk of the year and set a school record for wins. I set the school scoring record a few months into the season and thought we were going to go a long way in the tourney. We actually lost to Wayne State in the 1st round, which was very disappointing, but we were able to win the consolation game.
In 1984 you were named All-American/conference POY: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? Any time you get such notoriety like that it is a reflection of your team. It does not happen on your own: you need to have success as a team and an SID that lets people know what you have done. It was a nice cap on that era of Omaha basketball.
You remain the all-time leading scorer in school history: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were, and do you think that anyone will ever break your record? Records are made to be broken, and my own hope is that it gets broken someday. That would mean that someone came in and was successful for a 4-year stretch, and the team is doing great at the moment. I never thought it would last this long: the record holders before me were also Omaha guys whose records were broken after 7-10 years.
After graduation you played in the CBA for the Omaha Racers: how exciting was it to play for your hometown team, and what is the biggest difference between college basketball and pro basketball? I aspired to keep playing basketball as long as I could, and I played in an AAU tourney in Montana after our early elimination from the D-2 tourney. My backcourt mate was a short guy named John Stockton, and we both played pretty well up there. I felt comfortable with my basketball career so I felt okay going into the business world before later joining the Racers. I have represented my city for most of my life, which not a lot of players get to do.
In 1992 you won your 2nd straight Hoop-It-Up world championship: what is the key to winning a 3-on-3 tourney? A hard head! We did not always have officials back then so we would have to call our own fouls, and occasionally you would get thrown into the backboard support. We ran a lot of pick-and-roll plays: you are always looking for numbers, and I really enjoyed the strategic elements.
You run a basketball clinic in the Midwest with your brother Tom, who is the all-time leading 3-PT shooter in conference history and all-time leading FG shooter in school history: what makes your clinic different from other clinics, and who is the best player in the family? I do not think I am going to answer that last part! Our family is large on faith and mentoring kids in a loving fashion while teaching them to enjoy what they are doing. Sports is designed as a microcosm of life with highs and lows and obstacles, and I see our clinic as a “basketball party”: at the end of the week we are all depressed that it has come to a close. Kids still want to enjoy the game, so we just enjoy helping them become better.