’Work hard...then work even harder...and if possible harder still’. That might well have been the personal mantra followed to the letter by Brian Thompson.
At 6’5” the young Thompson, who came from a hockey playing family, wasn’t good enough to make his high school team at Halifax West. That was the turning point and the decision was made to work harder. His physical fitness and work ethic would become legendary and inspire his teammates in 5 years at Saint Mary’s. Seasons that would see him achieve Conference All-Star status 4 times. Named to the All-Canadian team in 1992 (3rd in CIAU scoring with 92 points) and lead the team to the runner-up position at the CIAU championships in the same season. Thompson would finish his 5 years at Saint Mary’s with a truly amazing point total of 1,697.
In 1992 Saint Mary’s would take a 13 game winning streak into the CIAU Nationals at the Halifax Metro Centre, due in no small part to their ‘go to’ guy Brian Thompson. He could destroy a defense down low and hit 3 pointers from the outside; a shooting skill that had been developed only through hours and hours of practice. During their run up to the Nationals, Thompson was often double and triple teamed. He would tell his teammates: ‘If I am covered I will find the open man’. That was leadership and confidence that was typical of Thompson.
Entering the tournament as the #6 seed, the Huskies would open with the unthinkable situation of having to play without their leader Brian Thompson. It was the stuff of Hollywood legend. Thompson suffered from a stomach virus that sent him to hospital. Sitting on the bench, minus 15 lbs, he would watch Saint Mary’s defeat Guelph 52-50, thanks in large part to 28 pts and 21 rebounds from Will Njoku. With Thompson making an “I’m back” statement in the next game, he scored 28 points in the win over Winnipeg.
Saint Mary’s would lose 77-71 to Brock in the final and Thompson, a tournament all-star, would close out his stellar career averaging 71% from the field in two games. In typical Thompson fashion he thought he should have played better. His teammates to a man strongly disagreed.
Following graduation with a degree in finance Thompson would play one season of pro with the Halifax Windjammers. He would turn down offers to play in Europe and chose to begin a highly successful career in finance in Halifax.