UGA tips off without freshman Thompkins

Athens - Imagine getting the keys to a new car but being told you can’t take it out for a spin.

That’s how Georgia’s basketball team feels as it begins a new basketball season Friday with heralded freshman Howard “Trey” Thompkins, who is unfortunately still in the garage.

Coach Dennis Felton famously signed Thompkins out of The Wesleyan School. The 6-foot-9, 247-pound power forward is one of the most highly-recruited, big man prospects to suit up with the Bulldogs in at least a decade, “perhaps ever,” according to the Georgia media guide.

But since the Bulldogs opened preseason practices a month ago, his coaches and teammates have seen Thompkins on a stationary bike more than on the court.

“He’s literally been on the court with us for two days,” Felton said. “That’s it.”

Injuries have kept the smooth-shooting power forward sidelined for the better part of fall semester:

• Thompkins sustained a stress fracture in his foot while playing pick-up ball in Athens over the summer.

• After getting cleared for individual workouts, he sustained a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and was shut down again.

• Cleared once more, Thompkins practiced with the team two days before an ankle injury sidelined him.

Just this week he started working out in a limited capacity with the rest of the squad. Felton said Thompkins will not play in tonight’s opener against USC Upstate.

“It’s not really that big of a deal,” said Thompkins, who averaged 27.5 points and 14.7 rebounds while leading Wesleyan to the Class AA state title last year. “It’s a small sprain. It’s a normal basketball injury. I’ll be over it soon. Not much to worry about.”

Actually, it’s more about anticipation. While Thompkins has been on the court with his teammates only in fits and spurts so far, they’ve seen enough to realize they want him out there.

“I’ve seen Trey shoot and I can promise you he’s one of the best big-men shooters we’ve ever had,” senior tri-captain Corey Butler said. “And watching him work in the low post, you’re just so amazed because he’s so smooth and fluid. It’s like he’s been here before.”

Similar comments were offered by virtually every teammate, most of whom played with Thompkins in pick-up games during summer semester.

“He has been on the court enough to make it obvious that he’s a really good player,” Felton said. “Our players have a real appreciation for what he brings. He’s just very, very talented and polished and effective on the offensive end of the court. He can really score and score with range. And that part really helps the rest of our team because he’s a guy that commands a lot of attention.”

That’s the key with Thompkins. Not only is a he effective on the low block, he can also knock down jump shots from 15 to 23 feet. That’s especially meaningful in Felton’s high-post offense.

“I feel like I can spread the offense out and also spread the defense out,” Thompkins said. “I can hit the shot at the top of the key off the flash. They’re going to have to guard us out there and that should give Albert [Jackson] and Jeremy [Price] and Chris [Barnes] more room to operate inside.”

Butler marveled as he watched Thompkins at the other end of the practice court — in his walking boot of course — bury 3-pointer after 3-pointer without so much as drawing iron.

“I just need him to stay healthy,” Butler said. “This is my last year. I want to play with the guy, you know?”