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KC transfer Thompson fuels Montrose to conference crown
Gage Thompson has been nothing short of magnificent on the hardwood this season for the Montrose Blue Jays.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound senior is one of the best-kept secrets in Missouri prep basketball, averaging 32 point per game while leading Montrose High to an 18-7 record and the top overall seed in the Class 1 District 6 tournament.
Two years ago Thompson would have never envisioned playing in the smaller Golden Valley Vernon County Conference, as he was a member of the suburban Kansas City Class 5 Liberty North High School varsity basketball team. That was until his mother considered a move to California. Rather than starting over in the Golden State, Thompson elected to move to the Montrose area where his father resided.
"I had around 500 in my (graduating) class at Liberty North, and about eight or nine here," Thompson said with a wry smile. "It's a lot different, but it's been good for me."
After transferring to Montrose, Thompson joined the basketball team late in his junior season and exploded onto the GVVC-scene. Several GVVC coaches privately grumbled about Thompson being allowed to join the Blue Jays so late in the season, as his addition had an instant impact on GVVC boys' basketball. But one thing was undeniable ---- Thompson's talent.
Thompson, a combo guard, can do a little bit of everything ---- including elevating the level of play of his teammates. After pouring in 30 points in Montrose's Feb. 11 GVVC tournament championship game victory, Thompson stepped into a small office at Montrose High School with Blue Jays veteran head coach Gil Hanlin to discuss his unlikely journey from Class 5 to Class 1 basketball.
"Last year we got beat by Bronaugh in the GVVC championship game," Thompson recalled, "so this feels great. We've been in the gym preparing hard every day, so it's good to see results."
"Coach talks with us all the time that we're not where we want to be," Thompson continued. "And we're never going to be there. So there's always areas we can improve in. There's always something we can get better at."
Hanlin began his coaching career with Montrose in 1967, shortly after leaving the service. He guided the Blue Jays for nine years before moving on to make stops at several schools, including Butler, Blue Springs, and Blue Springs South High Schools. Hanlin then came out of retirement this season when the head boys' basketball position opened at Montrose.
In his first season back on the sidelines Hanlin witnessed his senior leader drop in a career-high 46 points in Montrose's 69-54 conference road victory over Bronaugh. Thompson said it's all about confidence, based on the hours he puts in at the gym.
"Gage is a very unusual player in that he can score, but he can also pass and he takes care of his teammates," Hanlin said. "He's a very unselfish player with great leadership qualities."
Hanlin continued: "The rest of the kids are more excited practicing because of Gage. With me coming out of retirement after coaching at a larger school, we both most certainly understand what you have to do to be successful on the court. And he's helped convey that to the kids."
Hanlin said that in many cases teammates will show resentment toward a player who scores as much as Thompson, but that has not been the case in Montrose. One key to Thompson's dynamite production is efficiency.
"Gage scores without taking a whole bunch of shots," Hanlin said. "His shooting percentage is really good, and he does everything I ask him to do and more. I feel really fortunate that he's on my team."
Hanlin said he was disappointed that Montrose had yet to receive any media coverage this season.
"I know there's a Missouri Sports Writers and Sportscasters All-State team," Hamlin said. "We get absolutely no coverage. And I've got a kid who is maybe as good as any player in the state in his class."
Hanlin said in his four decades on the prep sidelines, Thompson is one of the most talented players he has ever coached.
"I hate to even say this in front of him, but I've never coached a better shooter at this level than Gage," Hanlin said. "And I've never coached a better kid at any place. I appreciate Gage as a player, while a lot of people look at Gage as a scorer. There's a difference between being a player and a scorer. And if Coach Hanlin calls you a player, then that's about the best thing I can say about you."
Hanlin added: "You better believe it's a big adjustment coming from suburban Kansas City to Montrose."
"It's been different," Thompson said of his transition to small town life. "I have a lot of good teachers and classmates. Even though it's a small school, it's good people. The Montrose community and fanbase has been great. It doesn't matter where we're playing, they come out and support us."
District tournament
The top-seeded Blue Jays open play in the Class 1 District 6 tournament tonight in Drexel against the eighth-seeded Hume Hornets.
"I think we are very fortunate to be seeded No. 1," Hanlin asserted, "since we're not going to have to play the No. 2 or No. 3 seed until the semis. We've improved a bunch since the first practice, but we're striving for perfection and we know that's never going to happen. I tell the kids, 'Nothing ever stays the same. Life is a series of peaks and valleys. And when we think we've peaked, we're going to hit a valley.' We have to keep on working. And if we were where we wanted to be, we wouldn't have lost seven games this year."
"We always talk about the little things," Thompson said of Montrose's success this season. "Like today (prior to the GVVC title game), we came in twice to practice (because we had a couple guys out this morning taking ACT's). We take ice baths after games. It's just all the little things. We have a goal, and to get there, we realize there's work that needs to get done."
Summer circuit
Basketball is a year round love affair for Thompson, as he plays for three different AAU teams: It's Bigger than Basketball (ITB) KC, In the Gym KC, and the Northland Warriors.
"All three play in the summer, but Northland doesn't travel," Thompson said. "ITB and In the Gym are kind of nation-wide travel teams. So I just play with them whenever they have tournaments."
Thompson said his future plans include playing at the collegiate level, as he's heard from several schools, including William Jewell College in Liberty. Mo.