GLENDALE, Ariz. — Sasha Stefanovic spends a lot of time with his former teammate, P.J. Thompson, late at night around the Purdue basketball office.

“Scheming things, drawing up plays,” Stefanovic said Sunday.

Inevitably, at some point during those late-night sessions, Stefanovic, in his first year as Purdue’s director of player personnel, will tell Thompson he is going to go work out or take a break. When he returns, Thompson will still be there, watching and rewatching video, trying to find an edge.

“Someday,” Stefanovic said, “he is going to be one of the best college coaches in the country.”

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Thompson, 28, appears to be on his way. On Monday night during the national championship game against No. 1 UConn, like he has all season, the Brebeuf Jesuit graduate and former Purdue point guard will walk the sideline near his former coach, Matt Painter, and flash the Boilermakers’ offensive plays on a whiteboard. He might take charge during a timeout to address an offensive call. Though his official title is director of player development, Thompson is also the team’s offensive coordinator.

It might seem like an incredible amount of responsibility for someone just six years removed from his playing career at Purdue. But that trust is a two-way street that stretches back to a relationship with Painter that covers half of Thompson’s life.

“He’s been telling the truth since I was 15 years old,” Thompson said this week after a practice at the Final Four. “In this business especially, you can’t have enough mentors like that. He’s absolutely my basketball mentor. He knows I look up to him. I watch him, study his every move. Sometimes I’m quiet; quieter than I probably should be. But it’s just because I’m watching him, studying him. One day I want to sit in his shoes and do what he does. He’s been incredible to me.”

Overlooked, but was always observing

Thompson was never the biggest, strongest or quickest prospect as a player. His travel coach for Spiece Indy Heat, Reynardo Bluiett, said he remembers having conversations with high-major assistant coaches about his point guard.

“They would say they love him,” Bluiett said. “But then they would say, ‘He’s good enough to play but he looks kind of in-between; how can I sell it to the head coach?’ He wasn’t the quickest guy, but he was always in passing lanes and he could anticipate and see things before they happened. He was like a second coach on the floor for me.”

On those teams that played on the EYBL circuit, the 5-10 Thompson was a bit overshadowed by prospects like Bluiett’s son, Trevon Bluiett, along with Trey Lyles, James Blackmon Jr. and JaQuan Lyle. Park Tudor’s Bluiett, 29, is still playing professionally in Italy after earning All-American honors at Xavier; Lyles is in his 10^th NBA season after earning Mr. Basketball at Tech and playing at Kentucky; Blackmon Jr., a Marion graduate, played for Indiana and professionally overseas before injuries shortened his career; and Lyle played at Ohio State and New Mexico before going on to play professionally.

“That class is special,” Thompson said of the 2014 graduating class, naming others like Bryant McIntosh, Tayler Persons and Daeshon Francis. “A lot of guys are still doing it as players and some others like me and Bryant have sacrificed our playing career and worked our way up with our minds (as coaches).”

McIntosh, a Greensburg graduate and a member of the 2014 Indiana All-Star team with Thompson, was a rival in the Big Ten at Northwestern. Like Thompson, he stayed with his former coach Chris Collins, first as an assistant director of basketball operations for three years and for the past two years as an assistant coach.

“Those two (P.J. and Bryant) obviously played for a long time but always from a basketball IQ standpoint seemed further ahead than everybody else on the court,” said P.J.’s father, LaSalle Thompson. “Not only from a playing standpoint but from the ability to communicate what you know. That was a little different with those two specifically going back to elementary school and middle school. You look at those traits and think, ‘They will be great coaches one day.’”

The timing of Thompson’s commitment to Purdue coincided with a bit of a change in philosophy for Painter from a recruiting standpoint. At the time, Painter called Thompson “a steal” for Purdue, though his other options were mid-major programs. In a five-player recruiting class that also included Isaac Haas, Vincent Edwards, Dakota Mathias and Jacquil Taylor, Thompson was the lowest-ranked of the group by recruiting services.

But Painter cares little for star rankings. Thompson carved out a role as the starting point guard for three seasons as a steady performer who could score (he averaged between 10.1 points and 10.7 points in his final three seasons), pass (career-high 4.7 assists as a sophomore) and shoot (he was a 40.4% 3-point shooter for his career).

“I’ve been a guy who played 10 minutes a game (he averaged 13 minutes as a freshman) and a guy who averaged 30 minutes a game,” Thompson said. “I’ve been in every role imaginable here at Purdue.”

Those experiences, Thompson said, help him now. His father was also one of his coaches coming up in youth basketball. Thompson's younger brother, Isaiah, played at Purdue for three seasons before transferring to Florida Gulf Coast and finishing out the past two seasons.

“My dad was someone who didn’t say curse words but he was fiery,” Thompson said. “He pushed you. He kind of made kids that didn’t always have the talent believe they had a chance. My job here is like I’m a friend to these guys, I’m a brother, I’m a coach. I can fill a lot of different shoes. Sometimes I have to get on them and challenge them, other days I put my arm around them and hug them and take them to get some food or whatever. I’ve watched people do that for me growing up and I’ve tried to implement that with these guys.”

Thompson also played on teams coached by Yogi Ferrell’s father, Kevin, and Bryant McIntosh’s father, Scott, before getting to high school. “All of those guys created a foundation for me,” P.J. said. After college, though, coaching still seemed like a long-term goal. He went to Denmark to play for a season in 2018-19, averaging 16.3 points and 5.0 assists.

When the opportunity arose after the season for Thompson to join the Purdue staff, his father and Painter encouraged P.J. to consider the chance to start his coaching career.

“It’s hard because you’ve worked at something your whole life, which is playing the game,” LaSalle Thompson said. “Matt knew it was the best thing for P.J. (to coach). You could play for seven or eight years and have a prosperous career but there’s no guarantee when you are done if that chance will be there.”

Thompson joined the staff as a graduate assistant in 2019-20. Looking back, he said he made the right decision.

“I always knew I wanted to get into coaching,” Thompson said. “I just didn’t know exactly when. Like any other kid, you have dreams and aspirations of playing at the highest level of basketball. But after playing a year professionally, I kind of came to the conclusion that I value being closer to home and family and friends more than playing. It’s the same goals I had as a player, I could just get into the business early and kind of accomplish the same goals coaching that I do as a player.”

The starting backcourt for Purdue, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, both point to Thompson as a key to their development from freshman to sophomore seasons.

“We both think the same way,” Smith said this week. “We’re both to ourselves and we both think about a lot of different things. He’s seen about every situation possible. Having him here has helped me tremendously.”

Said Loyer: “It’s very impressive for coach Painter to trust a guy like that who played six or seven years ago. It’s a lot of credit to how smart he is. It goes without being said in our locker room. Everybody respects him and has that confidence in him that he’ll make the right play call.”

'I love where I'm at.'

Not everyone in coaching wants to be a head coach. Thompson does. But he also knows he is in a good position now to learn and absorb as much knowledge as he can.

“I’m big on living in the moment,” he said. “Right now I’m not even an assistant coach, though they treated me like one for years. I’m just blessed and fortunate to lead the second-best offense in the country now and call the plays. There’s a progression to getting where I want to go. It’s baby steps. I’m not in a rush because I love where I’m at.”

Thompson’s persona as a coach is much like Painter’s. Calm and collected, never out of control. “I don’t think that part will ever change,” LaSalle said. “But I think in the future he’ll get on players a little more. Right now that’s not really his role.”

If there is one thing that won’t change, it is Thompson’s work ethic. On trips back to Indianapolis after a late Purdue home game, LaSalle or his wife Tonja will text P.J. to let them know they are home. When they do, P.J. is still in his office.

“P.J. has been given that huge responsibility and it’s something he doesn’t take lightly,” LaSalle said. “He works his butt off. That’s something I always wanted the boys to know was they had to outwork everybody. Coach Painter gave him that role because he knows he can handle it. He’s worked at it and done a great job.”

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Thompson lists off the coaches from Micah Shrewsberry to Paul Lusk to Terry Johnson to Brandon Brantley to Jack Owens to Greg Gary who have helped him prepare for his current role. He would eventually like to be one of those names for somebody else. There is already one taker who will be starting at point guard for Purdue in the national championship game.

“I told him wherever he goes, whenever I’m done playing, give me a call and I’ll be there with him,” Smith said. “He said he would. He said I’ll be his first call.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue assistant coach P.J. Thompson responsible for Boilers' offense