Sportsmanship — and a ‘life lesson’ on the court
Star player gives ball to opponent who asked to score
FREMONT >> Sometimes acts of kindness happen when one least expects it.
Tuesday night, in a high school basketball game that was not particularly close, James Logan High star Brah’Jon Thompson was dribbling out the remaining seconds of his team’s victory over American High of Fremont.
Happens all the time in onesided games.
Except on Tuesday, American’s Uriel Rodriguez Campos asked
Thompson for the ball because he seldom gets a chance to score.
Incredibly, Thompson, who did not know Rodriguez Campos, obliged.
He tossed the ball to his opponent, who seemed as stunned as everyone else in the American gym that the Logan guard — one year removed from helping the Colts reach a state championship game — heeded the request.
Rodriguez Campos, the ball in his possession, paused until teammate Colin Sides told him to go score.
“He threw me the ball and for a minute I was like, ‘Oh, what do I do?’ ” Rodriguez Campos said Wednesday.
He dribbled from midcourt to the basket, scoring on a layup as Thompson pursued and the clock expired.
When the ball fell through the hoop, Rodriguez Campos celebrated first with Thompson and then with players from both American and Logan.
A surreal scene of jubilee in a game won by Logan 7749.
“We talked about it afterward — a life lesson,” Logan coach Melvin Easley said. “At some point, what do you gain? You can have all the power in the world, but if you can’t share it with somebody else, what do you get?”
Before the gesture, Thompson heard teammates telling him to drive for a game-ending dunk, an act that would have painted an entirely different picture.
Instead, the senior listened to his opponent.
“He was like, ‘Hey, Brah’Jon, can I have the ball and score?’ ” Thompson said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, go ahead. Go do you.’ I ran with him down the court and we went to score. I didn’t know this
was going to happen.”
Since the video began making the rounds, both players’ phones have been filled with a steady stream of calls and texts, with everyone asking about the special moment.
“It’s more than basketball,” Thompson said. “I know if that was me and I asked a star player something like that, I know how much it would have meant. I really knew deep down in my heart that was the right thing to do instead of going down and attempting to dunk it.”
The 6-foot-5 Rodriguez Campos is in his first season of basketball. The junior doesn’t play much and thought about quitting.
Now, he’s having his 15 minutes in the spotlight.
“I got out of school today and everybody was sending me stuff — ‘SportsCenter,’ MaxPreps, Hudl, ABC News,” Rodriguez Campos said. “I was like, ‘Yo, this is like a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is amazing.’ You don’t know how happy this actually makes me feel.”
On the court after the game, Rodriguez Campos thanked Thompson.
“He said, ‘I appreciate you a lot, bro. I know you’re one of the top players in NorCal. I really look up to you. Thank you for doing this for me and my family,’ ” Thompson said.
The gesture brought back memories of Marin Catholic High runner Samantha Wallenstrom’s act of kindness last spring. She put her own season on the line when she stopped to help a competitor, who had fallen during the North Coast Section championships.
Both runners advanced and Wallenstrom, then a sophomore, won the state title.
Thompson has had his own moments to shine.
He was a first-team selection by this news organization last season after helping the Colts win the Northern California Division I championship.
Cast in a leadership role this season with a younger team, Thompson hasn’t enjoyed as many victories as a year ago, when he teamed alongside his cousin, Bay Area News Group player of the year Brett Thompson, to form one of the region’s most potent backcourt tandems.
But to hear his coach tell it, Thompson is growing up right before his eyes.
The act on Tuesday was another example.
“I was extremely proud of that kid because he didn’t have to do it,” Easley said. “The fact that he did shows a little bit about his character.”