All Rise for Her Honor on a Basketball Court

The first time I spoke with Tina Thompson, I called her from a pay phone at the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, during a break in hockey crook Bruce McNall’s bank-fraud case. We were supposed to meet in person, but the lawyers’ summations ran long, so I had to phone Tina while waiting for the judge to pass sentence.

“I’ll probably see you in this courtroom someday,” I told her before we hung up.

Not as a defendant, either.

“I hope so,” Thompson said.

Aspiring to be a judge, Tina Thompson currently reigns supreme in courts throughout the West Coast, where the USC senior is shooting and rebounding basketballs with authority. Her numbers--22.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game--rank first in the Pacific 10 Conference, which has already cited the 6-foot-3 Thompson as its player of the week three times.

A courtroom is the only place she would ever be on a bench.

“Still want to be a judge?” I inquired.

“Well, I’m majoring in sociology,” Thompson said. “But I still intend to go to law school, then keep on going from there.”

“Could you fix my parking tickets?”

“No chance,” she said.

OK, I took a shot.

Some of the USC gang has taken to calling Thompson “the Judge,” which is the kind of catchy yet dignified nickname a player of her stature deserves. Perhaps the name Thompson will become famous among L.A. jurists. Who knows, maybe Jay Leno will come up with the Dancing Thompsons, the way he did for Judge Ito.

Until then, Tina will stick to basketball courts. Her team’s record is 12-4. Only Stanford, at 20-1 the nation’s No. 3 team, is superior to USC in the conference standings, and that’s only because Kate Starbird scored 40 points so the Cardinal could outlast Thompson and USC in a wild game a few weeks ago.

Next month, the NCAA tournament awaits.

After that?

Well, law school might have to wait.

“College prepares you for the real world,” Thompson said. “But the world is changing a little.”

By that she means, a woman who excels at basketball in college doesn’t automatically have to consider another occupation, or go to Europe to make a decent wage. Two new pro leagues have formed, the American Basketball League, which is a work already in progress, and the Women’s National Basketball Assn., which begins play in June.

Thompson’s former teammate, Lisa Leslie, is already committed to play for L.A.’s franchise in the WNBA, which former Trojan player Rhonda Windham will run from the front office. Tina’s former coach, Cheryl Miller, has just been named general manager and coach of the WNBA’s Phoenix club.

Either team would be lucky to get her.

As Thompson realizes, “Pro basketball is more of an option for women like me than ever before. It’s something I definitely would have to think about.”

I normally wouldn’t discourage anyone, of either gender, from passing up further education.

But opportunities such as this, in team sports, come so seldom for women, I think Thompson would be well-advised to temporarily put L.A. law on hold.

Basketball is not some hobby. Endless hard work made Thompson’s game improve to its current level. Even as a kid, she often played in three-on-three pickup games involving her dad, T.J., and older brother, T.J. Jr., surprising many a macho male with her skill. And her little sister, Antoinette, is averaging 19 points and 16 rebounds for Rancho Santiago College.

“Doesn’t your family ever play any other sport?” I kidded Thompson.

“I tried volleyball once, but I was tempted to shoot it,” she kidded back.

Practically a straight-A student in high school, Thompson played at Inglewood Morningside, same as Leslie did. Although she expected to go to Stanford, Thompson was able to benefit from Miller’s coaching and Leslie’s on-court help after changing her mind to enroll at USC.

She is the team leader in points and rebounds for the third consecutive season.

When we spoke, Thompson sounded as proud of having cooked a family Christmas dinner for eight as she was for her achievements shooting hoops. I was glad I called. I’ve been so weary of selfish athletes, who can never get enough, rather than do enough.

How unselfish is Tina Thompson? Well, during the 1992 L.A. riots, Tina Thompson took part in “Rebuild L.A.,” volunteering to help clean up her city. I rest my case.