Gate City's Thompson completing playing career at King

BRISTOL, Tenn. — A decorated basketball career has one season left to go. Sarah Thompson is looking to make the most of it.

“It is crazy to think this my last year playing basketball, but I am excited for it,” said Thompson, a former all-state performer at Gate City who spent the previous three years at East Tennessee State before transferring to King University for this season. “I am just ready to go out and have no regrets because I don’t want to look back and having any.” Thompson, who graduated from ETSU in three years, will work on her Masters in Education at King, while also playing for the Tornado, where she is the team’s second leading scorer through four games, providing 10.



5 points for new head coach Josh Thompson, along with 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in a team-leading 30.

3 minutes per game. “I think coming in with Coach Thompson and seeing what he was about and what his goals were, that was really for my last year what I wanted my goals to be,” Thompson said. “Getting here and seeing the team and hearing how the team’s years have been in the past, for me it just about going out and playing hard for those girls.

” Thompson had a remarkable high school career at Gate City, starring in basketball, volleyball and softball, but she made her mark on the hardwood, leading Gate City to the 2020 Class 2 state championship and falling one heartbreaking loss short from making it a repeat the following season. She was a three-time Virginia High School League first team honoree, earning Class 2 player of the year honors during that very special junior campaign. “Not getting that championship my senior year, it is still tugs on me, but I love what I did at Gate City,” said Thompson, who was also all-state in volleyball and all-region on the diamond.

“I wouldn’t change it for anything, just like meeting the people and making the relationships with my teammates that I did...

I really loved it, you know every single game people are going to be there supporting you win or lose and I really like that about Gate City.” Thompson was able to live her dream, earning the opportunity to play at nearby ETSU, first under head coach Simon Harris, followed the past two season by Brenda Mock Brown. “Just coming from where I am from and being able to go to a Division I school, especially close to home like that, was my goal growing up,” she said.

“I just wanted to play D-I basketball and that is what I did. I am proud of myself for what I did there and I am just excited to see what I accomplish here.” Thompson, who played in 79 games, with 23 of her 25 starts coming as a freshman, helped ETSU improve from four wins that first season to 25 and 18 over the last two years.

“It was really good. Going in it was a definitely a roller-coaster not having the coach that recruited you as your coach. Coach Harris, he was great, and when he left we got another coach in Coach Mock and she was great too,” Thompson said.

“The people there are great people and I am definitely going to miss being there, but it is just going to be one memory and I am excited to be here now. I think the players there, we knew what we wanted and we had a goal and that is what we pushed for. We just stayed together and worked together as a team.

” Perhaps her greatest memory was starting against current Indiana Fever standout Aliyah Boston and the South Carolina Gamecocks in the season-opener for the defending national champions in 2022. “It was crazy. It was their first game of the season and they had their trophy ceremony and we got to watch that,” Thompson said.

“Just playing against such top players in the world, just look at them now, Aliyah Boston is in the WNBA. That is really cool to say we played against her. It was just a really good experience.

” Thompson has her career path mapped out, with plans to be a coach, having been influenced by Kelly Houseright at Gate City. “I absolutely loved my four years at Gate City. If I could go back I would go back in a heartbeat, just the people, the coaches, I still talk to all the players today and my relationship with Coach Houseright and her husband, Coach Jeremy Houseright, they are amazing people and I love them,” Thompson said.

“Those are people I will definitely look up to even growing up. I want to go into coaching and she is definitely someone I take as a mentor and someone I look up to and I want to be a coach like she is because she is an amazing coach.” Coach Thompson is pleased to be Sarah’s final coach on the hardwood, with Sarah’s goal to help the Tornado return to prominence at the top of Conference Carolinas.

“We were excited to get her transferring from ETSU,” said Coach Thompson, in his second stint as head coach at King. “She is starting for us right now, we have got high expectations for her and she is going to be an aggressive player and look to score. She can score from pretty much all three levels.

She is a good 3-pointer shooter, she is good in mid-range and crafty around the basket. Definitely something that we needed so we are excited to have her, we expect good things from her. “High-character kids is what we want, we want to have that culture and we really feel like we have got that back,” he added.

“We have the right people here and she is fitting in really well with her teammates, her teammates love her and she loves being here so it has been good.” While Sarah has adjusted to new roles at all three of her basketball stops, she has blended in just fine in Bristol. “We have only played (four) games, I haven’t been here like not even a whole semester yet,” she said.

“It is really family environment, those girls have taken me in and really been there for me whenever I need them. I think for me it is just going out there and being there for them and pushing them. We all want to win.

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