I think the reason that Thorpe seems so interested in taking on JT is that so many of JT’s problems are things that can be fixed with coaching. JT has most of the things that are hard or impossible to teach a big: hands, heart, mobility. The things that he needs to work on are mostly technical and mental: footwork, staying out of foul trouble, staying in control, etc.

Obviously NBA head coaches (especially ones that coach teams with as few quality vets as the Kings) are focusing more on schemes, gameplans, and other things to teach the whole team, rather than addressing each individual player’s deficiencies.

It also seems logical to me that Thompson wouldn’t have gotten much quality individual coaching in college. I’m only guessing and maybe the StRer who came from Rider with Thompson can refute this (Beagle?), but you have to assume that his college coach wasn’t on the level of the big time DI coaches that many NBA players get (Coach K, Lute Olson, etc.) And on top of that, Thompson was the best player in the conference, so his coaches would’ve had much bigger problems to address with their other players than JTs tendency to get in foul trouble. And his competition wouldn’t have been as good, so his problems wouldn’t have been exposed.

So yeah, I’d be effing psyched if JT signed up with Thorpe, even though I really have no idea what he does.

If the Kings had the rich man’s Kenny Thomas, in Kenny Thomas. You know, since they already have him and everything?