HOUSTON — Troy Thompson Sr. looked at the progress his twin sons, Amen and Ausar, had made on the basketball court during their middle school years. He knew their visions of playing in the NBA were on the right trajectory to become a reality.
Without hesitation, Thompson moved the family across the country — from San Leandro, California, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida — so his sons would not have to wait until their freshman year of high school to play varsity basketball.
When they arrived at Pine Crest School, the head coach knew he had something special. Three years later, in their junior seasons, the Thompson twins helped deliver a state championship while being named Broward County co-players of the year for their class.
Many projected Pine Crest to repeat with the twins returning for their senior season. But just as he had done when it was time to take his sons’ talent to the next level by moving them from California to Florida, Thompson took an alternate route.
In 2021, they joined the newly formed Overtime Elite (OTE) professional league. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the league is designed to help basketball players with elite talent work on getting their high school diplomas while enhancing their NBA profiles.
“In the 11th grade, when they won state (championship), there was nothing else to achieve on that level,” Troy Thompson Sr. said to me when I asked about the decision of taking his sons Amen and Ausar to play in Overtime Elite. #Rockets #Sarge @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/SLqzwhZOn0
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) June 28, 2023
Amen and Ausar were initially unhappy with the idea of going to OTE, which was in its inaugural phase. But just as they had been hesitant to make the cross-country journey, they believed in their dad and knew he had their best interests at heart.
“Me and Coach knew it was going to be a couple of years before they were ready,” Thompson told RocketsWire. “In the 11th grade, when they won state (championship), there was nothing else to achieve at that level. So, we went into looking into some of the prep schools, and Overtime Elite was a new concept.”
“They talked about development. They had access to the gym all day, a state-of-the-art weight room, and all these good coaches who had already been to the NBA. We were going to be one-and-done (college) anyway. The goal was one-and-done, not four years to get to the league. This (Overtime Elite) gave us a built-in one-and-done.”
After helping the City Reapers win the OTE championship in their second season there, Amen was selected by the Rockets with the No. 4 overall selection in the 2023 NBA draft. His brother, Ausar, was taken with the fifth pick by the Detroit Pistons.
“You work at something for a very long time, and finally, it culminates into exactly what you wanted,” Thompson said after watching his sons finally reach the NBA “It’s great to see your kids achieve their dreams, and that is what we saw on draft night.”
