Thompson is a key for the Blackhawks

PEA RIDGE — Pea Ridge coach Charley Clark had no doubts about putting Cameron Thompson into the Blackhawks’ lineup last November.

Clark wasn’t concerned that the then-sophomore was coming out of football and had little time to prepare for his first high school basketball season.

But the learning curve was short for the 6-foot-1 junior forward. Thompson struggled the first 10 games of the season before finding his scoring groove and was the Blackhawks’ leading scorer down the stretch last season.

Pea Ridge advanced to the Class 4A regionals before losing to Dardanelle by 10 points. Thompson averaged 21 points a game in district and regional games.

“We knew he was a kid with a lot of potential,” Clark said. “We had no doubts, but like most sophomores, he was pretty nervous. Once he got settled in, he was pretty good for us.”

And Thompson is again living up to that potential.

Boosted by a 24-point scoring effort at the Arvest Hoopfest Classic, Thompson is averaging 15 points a game.

What makes that average even more impressive is the fact Pea Ridge has a win against Rogers Heritageand close losses to Rogers High, Siloam Springs and Webb City, Mo.

Pea Ridge is 6-4 overall and all four setbacks have been to larger classification schools. That is something Thompson said will help the Blackhawks in conference play.

“Playing those teams has helped our confidence because we believe we are one of the top 4A teams in the state,” Thompson said.

Pea Ridge is 2-0 in the 4A-1 Conference after Tuesday’s 50-45 victory against Shiloh Christian.

Thompson scored 15 in the win.

In the first meeting against Shiloh last season, Thompson scored 26 points in a 74-73 win in what turned out to be a breakout game for him.

“That was a really big confidence booster,” Thompson said. “Early in the season, I had just come out of football and I wasn’t ready for the running.”

Thompson often gives up several inches down in the paint but Clark said the junior usually overcomes any size disadvantages. Clark said Thompson has a niceshooting touch inside and can even pull out on the perimeter and hit a 3-pointer.

“(Thompson) is just so strong and he plays really hard,” Clark said. “He gets after you and really rebounds well. He will wear opponents down. He is one of our better shooters.”

While expectations are high, Clark said he didn’t put together a difficult nonconference schedule just for this year’s team.

“You hate to lose any games, but we have learned a lot from our losses,” Clark said. “It gives the coaches and players a chance to look back at a one-possession game and look at the one time you didn’t box out, or the one time you didn’t get back on defense,or any coaching mistakes we made.

“We are going to try and keep the schedule like it is. It’s program wide. We are trying to play the best teams that we can because it helps us get better quicker.”