Rockets coach Ime Udoka applauds Amen Thompson’s off-ball growth

Rockets coach Ime Udoka on where Amen Thompson improved as a rookie: “Understanding how to impact the game without the ball in his hands.”

As the No. 4 draft pick of the NBA’s 2023 first round, Amen Thompson joined the Rockets last year as Houston’s point guard of the future. Eventually, that could still be the case.

But as a rookie on a team with veteran Fred VanVleet at point guard, head coach Ime Udoka found different ways to utilize his athletic 6-foot-7 prospect, including a number of off-ball roles.

With considerable value as a rebounder and defender, Thompson quickly showed off his versatility, and that became more important once starting center Alperen Sengun went down with a season-ending leg injury in March. Sengun’s absence opened up a starting role in the frontcourt, and Thompson seized the opportunity.

In a new interview with Vanessa Richardson of Space City Home Network (SCHN), the team’s regional television broadcast partner, Udoka was asked about where Thompson progressed as a rookie:

Udoka responded:

Understanding how to impact the game without the ball in his hands.

He’s a guy that’s been the fastest guy, the most athletic guy in the gym for most of his life. He has a really good feel for the game, as far as being a point guard and the passing ability.

For him, it was, ‘Yeah, you’re starting now, Alpi is out. How can you do some things when you don’t have the ball in your hands?’

Even before Alpi went out, he was playing in the dunker spot, and obviously his athleticism and size down there … he was working well off Alpi. Now, Alpi goes out, and he’s setting more screens, and he’s doing some different things than he’s ever had to do in his life.

For him, he took every challenge and accepted it. He was a sponge, trying to learn as he went. The biggest sign of growth is that it took him one or two times to do something for the first time, and then it was on to the next.

Those things will all add to his repertoire going forward. He was great with the ball in his hands, and we want him to push… every opportunity he gets off the glass. But when he can get on the glass, he can get offensive rebounds, he can impact the game as the screener, and all the other things. It’ll open up his whole game, moving forward.

In 17 games as a frontcourt starter following Sengun’s injury, Thompson averaged 13.9 points (58.6% FG), 9.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 29.6 minutes per game. He quickly became one of Houston’s most valuable and versatile defenders, as well.

The complete Udoka interview can be viewed as part of SCHN’s latest “Rockets All Access” program to wrap up the 2023-24 season. It airs for the first time on Friday night (April 26) at 7 p.m. Central, and it will be reshown several times over the coming days.

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