Comments about ‘Utah Jazz: Ryan Thompson to attend veterans camp’

Could this be our next Wes Mathews? I have seen him play and he is very athletic and is a beast on defense. He can hit his Jump shots too. Ya never know? Hope he can show off his skills in camp.

I just watched his Utube videos and he looks good, versatile, good handles, good 3 pt shooter, can stop and pop mid range, if he can play D at the nba level he could be a dimond in the ruff. His interview with Sac. he said he may not be done growing, it will be interesting to see how he does.

I like what I see in Thompson alot more than what I see in OJ. Like I said it may be how well he plays Defense.

Will he be our next Wes Matthews?

Probably not. You do realize that the Jazz bring in guys like this every year and there has only been one guy to last the entire season (unless I'm forgetting someone! Should we count the second coming of David Benoit?)

Once upon a time I got real excited when the Jazz let this guy who scored 35+ ppg in the Middle East come try out for their summer team and invited him to camp.

Then again, the Jazz did let Troy Hudson go... twice. And there is a roster spot open at the 2 and not a lot of money to go around.

Mathews only got his chance because Miles and Korver were injured. If they had not been injured Mathews wouldn't have made the Jazz, and he would be playing in Europe right now.

I am a Rider U. grad and saw Ryan Thompson play many games during his Rider career. Like his brother Jason, he is a very unselfish player. He has a world of talent but it does not always show up on the scoreboard because of his unselfishness and his team
oriented mentality. He runs the floor extremely well,
has great leaping ability and is an excellent mid and long range shooter. He is also a very smart player who seldom makes bad decisions. Good free throw shooter, too. I was very surprised that he wasn't drafted especially after his great showing hat the Portsmouth Invitational in April. He would be an outstanding addition to the Utah Jazz roster.

I too think he would be better than Jeffers. They need to also invite James Augistine to camp. They both can be signed to a non-guarentee contract.

Interesting but poor Jeffers could be on his way out.

Since 2008, I have really wanted the jazz to go after Jason Thompson. I wonder how his brother will do. I am with JFFR, Wes Matthews is a once a decade type guy, but I think if Thompson works hard, he can make it. We have the roster spots open.

I doubt if Thompson is the next Wes M, I’m not even sure if this is the right guy (I literally know nothing about this kid) but this is exactly the type of player the Jazz need to look for. Cheap, young and that can play both the 2 and the 3 spot. I would be shocked if the Jazz didn’t have at least 2 rookies playing for the minimum this season; I think Evans is almost a lock to be one of those rookies. So good luck thompson, because you're exactly the type of player the Jazz are looking for.

Thompson has talked to Sloan and KOC and they think he can be like Mathews, they want him to come in and be that type of player. After watching him though I think he can be a much better offensive player than Mathews, the question will be can he be as good defensively.
Thompson was the leading scorer at the Portsmouth predraft tourney, and showed a high b-ball IQ, and very versatile. He shot 57.5 % from the field but a great 64.3% from 3 pt range. He showed excellent decision making, good passer, and a good mid range game. Like I said, I like this kid much more than OJ.

Hopefully he can come in and do well so we can dump moles, oops,I meant miles,the worthless one

Houdini, your funny. I don't know if your read what I posted several days ago but to repeat myself, Coach Corbin was saying he thinks CJ will become a go to guy in the NBA. That is probably why the Jazz coaches and FO think he is one of the core players of the future for this team.
You have a hard time admitting when your wrong don't you.
It was hard to stay on CJ's bandwagon when he wasn't playing well, (he still has alot of room to improve)but that didn't have anything to do with his talent and potential. He has the potential to be the man DWill needs to help him attack and create for the Jazz.
For the Jazz sake (to become better) let's hope he continues to improve and reaches his potential.
It doesn't do any good to continue to be negative about CJ, it doesn't make you look good when his performance is improving and you continue to bash him.

whoever can come in and make the Jazz better by all means I am all for it. Who does Rider play though? Cw Post?

To all those who have been and like to bash KOC and the FO of the Jazz you need to read how the Jazz management is rated 4th in the league, with SA 1st and Popovich says they have patterned themselves after the Jazz and how they run their team.

I suspect there are other players who could do what Mathews did last year if you gave them the playing time. Hopefully Thompson is even better than Mathews. I have faith in KOC's dumpster diving abilities.

Now if he can produce a Big who can back up PF/C.
Evan may make a great rebounding SF but he is way to light to play PF in most situations.

Varnado should be available. He is a great shot blocker.

I think the Jazz fans will really like his game. He is very unselfish and plays within the game. His stats were down this past year, since the Rider staff was trying to help develop Ryan for life after college by playing him at the point. (not his position).

Ryan is a typicial 2/3. Goes to the basket hard, and is a decent shooter. Best strength is his passing ability and unselfishness. Needs to work on his quickness; to be able to defend consistency at the NBA level.

Ryan is really low key on both on and off the court. His parents have done a great job of keeping him grounded. If he makes the team, you will see his father at games snapping pictures to post on facebook.

Rider might be a mid major but Ryan led them this past year to a win at Miss state (18th ranked at the time. Out of high school he was recruited by larger schools.

In watching his highlight videos it is hard to see how well he can play defense. That will be the key IMO, to whether he can make the team and possibly be a Mathews type player. I hope he realizes that Defensse is what Sloan likes and is what helped Mathews make the team. If he spends the rest of the summer consintrating on being tough and hardnose defensively he could be a good find.

Just for the record - you could make Ostertag look good on youtube

Bugoff, I agree right now Evans is too light to play much PF, but Dennis Rodman was super skinny when he first played, too. We'll have to wait and see how weight training benefits Evans over the next few years. Remember too that Rodman was a one-skill player...he was simply a great rebounder. Evans, on the other hand, is apparently a good all-around player, and he can score around the basket at a very high percentage.