Former Syracuse basketball forward, Taurean Thompson, finds new home

Former Syracuse basketball big man, Taurean Thompson, has transferred to his third school in five years. This latest stop could prove to be pivotal.

Taurean Thompson, a power forward who played for Syracuse basketball during the 2016-17 season, is headed to his third college in five years.

In his lone year at Syracuse, Thompson averaged 9.2 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game while playing less than 20 minutes per contest. Perhaps his best showing was in the Orange’s upset victory over Duke, in which Thompson played very well in down low while adding much-needed energy.

Thompson was previously a member of the Seton Hall Pirates from the 2017-18 season through 2019-20. His decision to transfer from ‘The Hill’ to ‘The Hall’ was very mind-boggling, as his freshman campaign with the Orange made many people believe he would be a key piece for the ‘Cuse in years to come.

After sitting out one year in South Orange, New Jersey, Thompson emerged as a fan favorite by the Pirate faithful, knowing his talent and potential for much more.

Other than a few breakout games, including Thompson’s key role in Seton Hall’s upset victory over Kentucky in 2018, he never really secured good footing with the Pirates, falling quickly on their deep depth chart.

Now, with one year remaining in Thompson’s college hoops career, he has decided to transfer to a much smaller school, perhaps with the hopes of increased playing time.

As first reported by Jon Rothstein, Thompson will be headed to Detroit, where he will be immediately eligible.

The Detroit Titans, who play in the Horizon, finished at just 8-23 last season. Although they had their team struggles, they do feature one of the top-scoring guards in the nation in Antoine Davis. Davis, who will be a junior next season, has career averages of 25.2 points per game and 4.0 assists per contest.

This type of scoring is hard to come by, which can set Detroit apart from other teams. With the addition of Taurean Thompson, it would give the Titans a player who has plenty of experience on the big stage.

While Thompson hasn’t played for Syracuse basketball for what will be four years in November, he will always be a part of the Orange faithful. Interestingly enough, former ‘Cuse star Eric Devendorf was a special assistant to the head coach at Detroit as recent as 2019.

Are the Syracuse and Detroit ties an actual thing to keep an eye on? Probably not more than a mere coincidence. With that being said, watch out for Taurean Thompson to see how he fits in with the Titans this season.