One of the more underrated point guards in America, P.J. Thompson may have been one of the most-improved players that no one talks about. Thompson provided a steady hand in the backcourt all season and made clutch shots time and again to help lead Purdue to the Sweet 16.
Thompson started the year by averaging 10.8 points and 4.3 assists in Purdue's trip to Spain, while making 11-of-16 3-point attempts in four games.
Thompson had a knack for hitting the big shot, including two half-court shots to beat the halftime buzzer. First, this one vs. Villanova.
And then this one vs. Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament.
After a slow start to the season, Thompson was named to the Cancun Challenge All-Tournament Team after scoring 15 points with three rebounds and two assists in the title-game victory over Auburn.
He made 3-of-6 3-pointers, reaching his season high in scoring in just the fifth game of the season.
It marked the second straight season that Thompson had a huge performance against an athletic SEC school in a Thanksgiving title game. He led Purdue to a victory in the 2015 Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic against Florida.
He would score 13 points each in back-to-back games against Louisville and Morehead State, making 6-of-9 from long distance in those two games.
Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Purdue is 31-7 when he commits zero turnovers in a game.
He's had three turnovers in a game just once in his career (at Penn State this year).
Since the start of last year, he has 49 turnovers in 1,787 minutes played, an average of 36.5 minutes for every turnover.
He was 1-of-11 players nationally to play at least 1,000 minutes and have 30 or fewer turnovers. He was the only one to add 100 or more assists.
Thompson made another buzzer-beater in the NCAA Tournament against Vermont to give the Boilermakers a halftime lead at the break.
This 3-pointer against Iowa State may have been the biggest shot of the season. Iowa State had come back from 18 points down to take the lead at 73-71 with just under three minutes left. The lead lasted 12 seconds as Thompson hit this triple to give Purdue a lead it would never relinquish.
