Everyday Champions - The Thompson Family - Oregon State University Athletics

There is something unusual about the Oregon State Men's Basketball roster. The last name Thompson appears three times.
The No. 1 jersey is worn by Stephen Thompson Jr., better known as Stevie, a senior guard.
No. 5 belongs to Ethan Thompson, a sophomore guard and Stevie's younger brother.
And Assistant Coach Stephen Thompson, in his fifth year at Oregon State, is their father.
The fact that the Thompson family ended up at Oregon State is no coincidence. It's something Coach Thompson wished for ever since his boys took up the sport he played and loves.
Their story is about believing in something that might seem improbable. It's about how through sacrifice, with perseverance and by putting family first, a dream is realized. The Thompsons embody the powerful connection that sports have in bringing families together.

To say that the Oregon State Men's Basketball is a tight-knit group might understate team culture. And the Thompson family is certainly a part of what makes the program special.
"What's a little different here is you have two dads who are coaching sons," Coach Thompson says. "I haven't heard of that dynamic before."
Head Coach Wayne Tinkle's son, Tres, a junior, is a starting forward. And Isaac Barnes, a freshman forward, is the son of Oregon State Athletic Director Scott Barnes.
"Once we hit the court, everybody's our son, and everybody's family," Coach Thompsons says. "Everybody wants the best for everybody all the same."
In sports, dynasties are not unusual. Sons follow in the footsteps of fathers to greatness. Siblings compete as teammates or opponents.
Think NFL's Mannings. NASCAR racing's Pettys, Earnhardts and Jarretts. MLB's Giffeys and Alomars. The NBA's Waltons and Currys.
Of course you don't have to be the son or daughter of a professional athlete to become one. But it doesn't hurt either.
When Coach Thompson started a family, basketball was a part of it from the beginning. At the time, he played professional basketball in Japan. His wife, Amy, was pregnant with Ethan, and needed a break one day. So 2-year-old Stevie went to practice with his dad.
"Are you sure it's OK with your coach?" asked Amy, questioning the ability of a toddler to sit still for that long.
"Amy you should see him," Stephen Thompson told his wife when they returned home. "He sits in the stands and watches, mesmerized. I couldn't believe it."
When Stevie was 5 and Ethan was 3, the family moved to LA for Coach Thompson to join the staff at Cal State LA. Among the earliest memories for Stevie and Ethan are watching their dad play and coach basketball.
"We were always looking to shoot on the side hoops," Stevie recalls.
Ethan thinks his dad might have been holding back a little when they worked on drills as kids.
"We'd play one-on-one, and he didn't want to give us all the little tricks he had," Ethan says.
But it wasn't enough for Coach Thompson to teach his sons the game. He wanted to be a part of it. Coach Thompson let it be known that someday, he hoped to coach his sons in college.

Stevie and Ethan have always been close and share a competitive nature. That's true whether they're playing NBA 2K or trying to earn the highest GPA.
Stevie set a high standard as a student-athlete. He achieved a 4.33 GPA in high school, and earned a degree in digital communication arts in three years. For his senior season, he's enrolled in a master's program in interdisciplinary studies, with a focus on speech communication and sociology.
It's not enough for Stevie just to be good.
"I want to have the best grades out of anyone in the class," Stevie says.
Ethan is also studying digital communication arts.
"I feel like Stevie does a good job of pushing me to become a better student," Ethan says.
Ethan and Stevie learned the importance of getting good grades from watching their dad's college teams. Long before any team required them to meet academic standards, Ethan and Stevie understood what it meant to be eligible. In the Thompson home, schoolwork came first, no matter what.
"The club team may not be holding you accountable," warned Amy, who worked as a vice-principal. "But we are."
Ethan recalls the questions to be expected if they wanted to go outside and play with the neighbors.
"Did you get your homework done?"
"How are your grades?"
"What did you get on your last test?"
When they played on club teams that traveled, Stevie and Ethan did their homework in the car or on the plane.
But the emphasis on school didn't detract from their development as players. Coach Thompson recalls when Stevie was in ninth grade, he had a weekend tournament in Las Vegas. The first game was on a Friday night. But rather than leave early, they waited until after school.
"You can't miss school," Coach Thompson told Stevie. "We're just going to have to hustle."
But they hit traffic, and the drive took longer than expected. By the time Stevie arrived, the game was half over and his team was down.
It happened to be the first time that Stevie would play in front of college coaches. He turned in a remarkable performance, leading his team to a come-from-behind win.
"He just started firing in shots from all over the place," Coach Thompson recalls.
About the same time, Ethan was playing up at an All-American camp, which means he was with players who were a few years older. In one of his games, Ethan exploded for 26 points against some high-caliber players who are now in the NBA.
In these moments, Coach Thompson could see the future taking shape. His sons were more than good enough to play in college. Their abilities would bring offers from schools in the NCAA's power conferences. The problem was, Coach Thompson worked at a NCAA Division II school that competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

After nine years as head coach at Cal State LA, opportunity beckoned. In 2014, the new Oregon State Men's Basketball Head Coach Wayne Tinkle was filling out his staff. Coach Tinkle invited Coach Thompson to Portland for an interview.
The Thompsons did not have any connection to Oregon State or the Pacific Northwest.
"I had never even been to Corvallis," Coach Thompson recalls.
He grew up in LA, where he was a standout at Crenshaw High School. He attended Syracuse University, and was a three-year starter, earning All-American honors. After college, he played professionally for the NBA's Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets, as well as overseas in Europe and Japan.
He wasn't intimidated by the idea of picking up and moving someplace he's never been.
That's the effect basketball can have on a person.
"As long as you have that ball, the place is going to be OK," Coach Thompson says.
The decision to come to Oregon State isn't one he made alone. Around the dinner table, his family weighed the pros and cons. On one side was the day-to-day things he'd miss as his sons finished high school. Ethan still had three years, and Stevie was preparing for his senior year.
Amy knew Oregon State was a good opportunity for her husband.
"So we were willing to do that," she says.
The first time Coach Thompson came to Corvallis, he flew into the Eugene airport and drove up Highway 99 in the dark.
"Where am I?" Coach Thompson wondered as he pulled into town.
But his next impression is the one that stuck. In the morning, he walked from his hotel past Reser Stadium on the way to Gill Coliseum.
"This is beautiful," he thought.
With his family's blessing and the chance to be a part of rebuilding a program, the decision was easy.
"I don't need to see anything else," he declared after walking into his new office.
"This is a special place here at Oregon State and Corvallis. This is the greatest place to be a basketball coach."
Coach Thompson knew he might be taking a step toward coaching his sons. But it could just as easily turn out to be a step away. The future was anything but certain. But Coach Thompson wasn't worried.
This is all going to work out, he thought.

When Coach Thompson accepted the job at Oregon State, Amy feared that the time apart would seem like forever. In fact, she says, it went by quickly. The family stayed in touch through video chat and made weekend trips to visit as often as it was possible.
"We would FaceTime with my dad, catching up on how our days went," Ethan recalls.
For Ethan and Stevie, it was an adjustment with their dad not living at home. When they were young, it was great having a dad who was a coach. In the off-season, Coach Thompson would pick up his sons from school and go to the gym to work out.
"We did shooting drills, dribbling drills," Stevie recalls. "He trained us our whole lives."
Ethan remembers how their elementary school was near the beach.
"He would take us down to the beach and do a bunch of push-ups or go run on the sand," Ethan says.
When he coached in LA, Coach Thompson still traveled a lot for away games and recruiting. Ethan and Stevie learned how to succeed when their dad wasn't present.
"They learned to be on their own early on," Amy says. "We instilled in them opportunity through sacrifice and demonstrated that with our own sacrifice."

Stevie had gone through the recruiting process his junior year and had narrowed his list of possible schools to two before his dad became an assistant coach for Oregon State.
But Coach Tinkle wasn't only interested in having Coach Thompson on his staff. He also wanted Stevie to play here.
When Stevie made an official visit to Oregon State, he felt a connection. He saw himself as a good fit with the team's playing style. Off the court, everyone was personable.
"I really liked what they were saying," he says.
Stevie knew his dad wanted to coach him in college.
"During the whole process, my mom and dad were always telling me that it was my decision," Stevie recalls. "I never really felt pressured to come to Oregon State and follow him."
The fact is, Stevie wanted to play for his dad as much as his dad wanted to coach him.
"I just couldn't pass up the opportunity for what I had been dreaming for my whole life," Stevie says.
Stevie's senior year of high school, he and Ethan led Bishop Montgomery to a state championship. And things were off to a good start for Coach Thompson in his first year at Oregon State, which set a single-season record for most home wins.
Even with his brother and father at Oregon State, it wasn't a given that Ethan would follow. Like Stevie, Ethan was a sought-after recruit.
When Ethan received a scholarship offer to play for Syracuse, the choice became more difficult.
"Uh-oh," Coach Thompson realized. "We have a problem."
All his life, Ethan had wanted to play for Syracuse, like his dad. Oregon State and Syracuse were Ethan's top choices.
Which orange would he wear?
Meanwhile, Ethan wasn't the only one facing a decision. After making it to the NCAA tournament when Stevie was a freshman, the team faltered his sophomore year, finishing with a losing record of 5-27, at the bottom of the Pac-12 Conference.
So while he was trying to convince Ethan to play at Oregon State, Stevie wasn't sure he wanted to stay.
In the end, the brothers say the chance to play together was a key factor in their respective decisions, for Stevie to stay, and for Ethan to commit.
Stevie remembered what it like to play with Ethan in high school. At times, they were unstoppable.
"We played together a lot growing up, so being able to do that again on a bigger scale was definitely a dream of mine," Stevie says.
When Ethan made his official visit to Oregon State, he announced his commitment.
"I'm following Dad," Ethan said.
Was it destiny? Perhaps. But Ethan's decision surprised his family.
"Are you sure?" Amy asked her youngest son. "You have a chance to go anywhere."
"I really want to play for Dad," Ethan replied.
The decision to play for Oregon State wasn't about putting family before basketball. Here basketball is family.

This season may be the last time Ethan and Stevie play on the same team.
"I hope that they can play a lot of years of basketball. One thing I do know is they will be successful young men because of who they are and what they represent," Coach Thompson says.
On the court, the Thompsons have chemistry, but they keep their emotions in check.
When Stevie hit the game-winner against Washington in 2018, Ethan's response was matter-of-fact.
"Good shot," he told his brother. "You saved us."
After games, they talk Xs and Os, basketball stuff, pointing out what they need to work on. They offer each other encouragement.
"We always have each other's back," Ethan says.
Ethan and Stevie were already familiar with their dad's coaching. So they knew what to expect.
"We just try to look at him as another coach during practice," Stevie says.
"He does a very good job of separating dad and coach," Ethan says. "I feel like we do a pretty good job, too."
Of course Ethan and Stevie know their dad better than the other players.
"He's a pretty emotional coach," Stevie says. "He knows the capabilities of his players. He knows how to get the best out of them and how to push them and motivate them."
During home games, Amy watches from her seat behind the Oregon State bench, beaming with three times the reasons to cheer as a typical fan.
"My life has been very blessed," she says.
Coach Thompson says he owes his wife a real vacation someday, one without any basketballs.
"It's not been easy for her to have these three boys running around, roughing up the house and rumbling and tumbling," he says. "She's done a great job with all of us."
Ethan and Stevie are college roommates. They make it to their parent's house in Albany as often as they can to share a meal or watch a movie. Last summer, the whole family took a trip back to LA.
"We just hopped in the car and went places," Ethan says. "We did a couple hikes and went down Rodeo Drive."
It still feels like they're making up for lost time.
"Just being together as a family is huge for us, so we just try to cherish that time together," Stevie says.
It might seem cliché to say it was worth the sacrifice to be together again as a family. But it's true, Ethan says: "That's what makes having us all here now so special."

Everyday Champions - The Thompson Family

Players Mentioned

Isaac Barnes

Ethan Thompson

Stephen Thompson Jr.

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