INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

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IUPUI STUDENT INTERN WITH INDIANA LEGENDS LEARNS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE COACH

When the ABA2000 Indiana Legends take the floor at Hinkle Fieldhouse, IUPUI's Jason Thompson takes to a seat high above the opposing team's basket.

From this vantage point, Thompson goes to work on his most important task as a Legend student intern: charting what the opponents do offensively and defensively and suggesting adjustments the Legends should make at half-time.

Thompson isn't paid for his efforts, but he believes what he is learning as an intern with the Legends will prove invaluable one day when he is sitting on the bench as a coach.

A junior in the School of Physical Education at IUPUI, Thompson is majoring in physical education and health. After he graduates, he wants to teach and coach. He wants to start at the high school level and work his way up to a college coaching position and then possibly a professional coaching slot.

When the Legends are traveling, Thompson has little to do, but when the team returns home, Thompson goes to work. At practices, he helps run drills and assists with other tasks. On game days, Thompson arrives 90 minutes before tip-off. He picks up tickets for family members and friends of the players, and then talks with the coaches about their plans and what they want him to watch for. At half-time, he reports on what he has observed and suggests changes the Legends should make. After the game, he assists young fans in getting autographs from players.

Among the lessons Thompson has learned as an intern is that there's a lot more to coaching than the game itself. "I didn't realize how much work the coaches have to do. They not only have to coach, but talk to schools and organizations. It's almost like they have a side job in the community."

The coach Thompson studies most closely is Legends head coach, Billy Keller, a former Indiana Mr. Basketball who went on to play for Purdue and the Pacers. The fact that Keller is also his uncle helped Thompson land the intern spot, but family ties are checked at the door when it's game time.

"It's a lot of fun," Thompson said. "I have been involved in athletics my whole life and played baseball and football at Avon High School. Since high school, I've known this is what I want to do."

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