Under the radar at Rider

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BALTIMORE — Joe Dumars made the trip to a tiny Lawrenceville, N.J., gym earlier this season. So too did Vinny Del Negro and former Duke star Jason Williams.

"For a stretch during the season, you never knew who would be in the building," Rider forward Jason Thompson said.

But it was always clear why any member of the basketball cognoscenti would veer onto an Interstate 95 off-ramp between Philadelphia and New York and roll into the 1,650-seat Alumni Gymnasium: The presence of Thompson, a 6-foot-11, 250-pounder who could be a first-round pick in June's NBA Draft.

The senior is not just a remotely skilled big man in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, where the Broncs (21-9, 13-5) shared the regular season title and will be the No. 2 seed in this weekend's league tournament in Albany, N.Y.

He's a different kind of player, a big man with guard skills who provides Rider with a distinct Euroball flavor and a chance to reach its first NCAA tournament in 14 years.

Not bad for a guy who began his high school career as a 6-foot-1 guard and came to Rider as a self-described energy guy at 6-foot-8.

"It's been a nice surprise that he's grown into a first-round NBA pick, we're hoping," Rider coach Tommy Dempsey said. "It's not a surprise at all that he was going to be a very good college player."

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"Very good" is an understatement. But Thompson remains relatively anonymous to those who do not ferociously devour box scores of schools outside the power conferences on a regular basis.

He glided without fanfare through a downtown Baltimore hotel lobby last month, a scene no doubt repeated this season when Rider made its annual trips to places like Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Fairfield Conn. But Thompson also carried himself with an easy assurance.