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South Dakota State University Athletics
Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen
Senior Ellie Thompson
2/14/2018 8:48:00 AM | Women's Basketball
by Michele Schmidt, Assistant Sports Information Director
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When Babe Ruth said, 'it's hard to beat a person who never gives up,' he might have been referring to someone like senior Ellie Thompson.
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The 6-foot-1 forward for the South Dakota State women's basketball team relishes that role on the team, which explains her knee pads and why she has played in 124 career games at State.
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"It's not easy; that is what I thrive on, excelling at things that aren't easy. That's why I get good grades because I want to be above average. I want to do the things that other people aren't necessarily willing to do, like when it comes to being physical," Thompson said. "It hurts so bad. You get elbowed. You get pushed around. There are times when I have to warm up my muscles to prepare them for getting beat. Before practice I start pushing on them and say, 'You better be ready for this. You are about to get beat up.' It's a battle. My role is to get those dirty, scrappy, garbage rebounds and dive on the floor for loose balls, things like that. That's what I get the most pride out of being willing to do the things that others aren't willing to do."
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However the thought of playing basketball for more than fun was surprising to the Chaska, Minnesota, native, who has scored more than 1,000 points and blocked 100 shots at State.
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"I always loved basketball, but I wasn't good growing up. I hit a growth spurt in eighth grade and I was just playing basketball for fun. I remember I was at a Christmas tournament and there were some AAU coaches there. I didn't even know what AAU was," she said. "I ended up talking to all these AAU programs and I picked the Minnesota Fury. That was a really good choice for me. The director was my coach and he had a lot of connections and knew a lot about basketball.Â
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"The moment I knew I was a basketball player was when he called me up and said, 'Hey, are you ready to start making calls?' and I said, 'What do you mean make some calls?' He said, 'I have a list of college coaches who want to talk to you.' I said, 'College basketball coaches? What?' I was a freshman in high school and never even thought about playing basketball in college. All of a sudden, he said there was basketball coaches calling who want to talk to me and want me to talk to them. So, I just started making calls. I literally remember that moment on the phone with my coach. Making calls to who? College coaches apparently want me to play for them."
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Not only did the Jackrabbits want her to play for them, they needed her to fill the role that senior Mariah Clarin had been playing. She just didn't know it at the time.
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"Going against her (Mariah), I thought she was just a monster. When I was a freshman, she gave me stitches. We were doing a drill and I was getting up into her grill and she popped me in the mouth. She was definitely a leader in pushing me to work harder. I thought I was the hardest worker on my high school team and I thought I was a hard working when I came here. It turns out they work a lot harder in college," Thompson said. "She was definitely one of the players who helped me up my work ethic. She was not afraid. If I wasn't working hard, she would tell me. I hated it at the time. 'Come on give me break,' but it definitely helped me my freshman year to know what was expected. And then having to go against her and keep her off the boards was a huge part of developing my game for the future. The one thing that Mariah was good at that I'm not so good at is being mean. She was fierce."
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Hats off to Clarin and the Jackrabbit basketball coaches because Thompson has embraced her role. She will finish her career in the top 10 in career rebounds because she knows her bread and butter is her rebounding abilities.
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"Ellen Degler went to SMSU—she actually coaches back at Chaska now—I literally wanted to be her. I looked up to her so much. She was such a hard worker and so energetic," Thompson said. "Rebounding started coming natural to me when I was in eighth grade. Then I think that I realized you can score more when you get offensive rebounds. I was always in position. I kind of learned the knack of how to see when the ball goes up where it most likely will come off. So, I think anticipating that and then just having a role model with such a huge work ethic and desire to rebound. I tried to replicate that."
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When Thompson looks back on her career, she is surprised in what she has done.
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"I wasn't talented. I learned how to make layups and finish around people because I wasn't the most talented in making moves, so I just scrapped for the rebounds. And somehow, people saw something in me. I don't really know what they saw from this little girl who got cut in fifth grade; some sort of eye for the game," she said. "I am so unbelievably blessed to have that support system around me the whole time, giving me this opportunity. Being a blue-collar player has really helped me in establishing my role here. I'm not the type of person who is going to score with finesse every game. I'm getting those scrappy garbage buckets."
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Players Mentioned
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