By JOHN MOOREHOUSE
Trey Thompson remains curiously missing in action at Iowa.
The Mr. Basketball finalist and all-time scoring and rebounding leader at Greeneville High has yet to make his collegiate debut after he bypassed his final year of high school eligibility to enroll early and sign with the Hawkeyes.
First-year Iowa coach Ben McCollum has mused in the past about the possibility that Thompson may redshirt. That runs counter to what Thompson told both local and Iowa reporters about why he chose Iowa — that the coaching staff told him his presence was needed right away.
Thompson didn’t even travel with the team for a road trip last week to Michigan State Dec. 2 and Maryland Dec. 4, and was listed as “out” on the required Big Ten injury report released prior to each contest. He was listed as questionable for Thursday’s game against Iowa State and did not play.
When asked how long Thompson would be out, McCollum told reporters after the win against Maryland, “A little while, I think. Yeah. I think he’s got some injury stuff that I’m not supposed to talk about.”
Here’s a look at the four other local athletes currently on Division I basketball rosters:
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee
The Greeneville native is in the midst of a huge season for the No. 20-ranked Vols (7-3), who are in the midst of a 10-day break from games and return to the floor Dec. 16 against Louisville in Knoxville. Gillespie currently averages 17.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. Through all games played Dec. 9, Gillespie ranked ninth in the Southeastern Conference in scoring and fourth in assists.
A recent CBS Sports article examined how the top acquisitions in the transfer portal have fared thus far this season. On Gillespie, writer Isaac Trotter said:
“In an ideal world, Gillespie is the 1B of this offense behind potential top-five pick, Nate Ament. But the five-star freshman has been shaky, which has shifted even more of the scoring and creation burden onto Gillespie’s plate. The Maryland transfer is taking over 30% of Tennessee’s shots when he’s on the floor, while leading the team in assists by a country mile. Where would Tennessee’s offense be without its fearless guard? I don’t think Rick Barnes wants to know. ”
Emmah McAmis, ETSU
McAmis has carved out regular minutes in the ETSU rotation off the bench as a true freshman, seeing the floor in nine of the Bucs’ first 10 contests and logging double-digit minutes in eight of those appearances. She played a season-high 22 minutes in Saturday’s home loss to Southern Indiana, posting eight points on 3-of-7 shooting from the floor with four assists.
Dante Oliver, UNF
Oliver saw one of his longest runs of the season during North Florida’s game at Gonzaga on Sunday: 16 minutes. The son of former Vol assistant and ETSU head coach Desmond Oliver is mired in a scoring slump, though. He’s posted zeroes in five of his past six appearances, missing all five of his shots — three field goals and two free throws — against the Zags. It’s been a struggle in general for UNF, which has a 2-7 record.
Sydney Mains, Missouri
Mains has yet to play for the Tigers this season.