'I thought my career here was over.' Race Thompson return a welcomed sight for IU fans.

BLOOMINGTON – A veteran of long-term injuries in his five-plus years of college basketball, Race Thompson thought his latest one might be his last.

Thompson knew how it looked — and, more importantly, how it felt — when his right knee bowed inward as he dove for a loose ball near the end of the first half of IU’s Jan. 5 loss at Iowa. As he was helped off the floor, tears in his eyes, the sixth-year forward from Minneapolis admits now he thought the injury would end his Indiana career.

“I pretty much thought my career was wrapped,” he said.

Instead, Thompson got what probably amounted to the best-case scenario. Fewer than three weeks after the injury, he was back on the floor Sunday in a limited role during the Hoosiers’ 82-69 win against Michigan State.

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It isn’t Thompson’s first trip through the protocol surrounding significant injuries. He’s dealt with a groin problem in the past and, perhaps most notably, a concussion during his second year in Bloomington the aftereffects of which were so severe, for a time he could not even attend class.

This time through the process, Thompson credited IU trainer Tim Garl, as well as members of Iowa’s athletic training staff, for reacting quickly to his latest injury, both in terms of quick treatment and rapid diagnosis. And Thompson said Tuesday he’s back to full strength physically already, if still learning how to trust the knee he was so sure that night in Iowa City was too damaged to repair before this season ended.

“Feeling better every day now,” Thompson said. “I can’t put a percentage on it. I can do everything I could do (before). I think it’s more like a confidence thing. When you have a knee injury, you lose a little bit of confidence in everything you naturally do.”

A fixture in the starting lineup until his injury, Thompson currently averages 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. In his convalescence, Thompson has watched his team bottom out and climb back up, each with remarkable swiftness.

The Hoosiers lost that Iowa game, in no small part because Kris Murray scored 23 of his 30 points after Thompson — his primary cover to start the game — went to the locker room. IU returned home for a loss to Northwestern, before being disassembled in a 19-point defeat at Penn State.

Since then, the Hoosiers have reeled off three wins in a row, Wisconsin by 18, Illinois by 15 and Michigan State by 13. Thompson watched his stand-in, Jordan Geronimo, contribute 30 points and 21 rebounds in those three games. And Thompson has absorbed more from the coaching staff he’s spent a lot of time shadowing during his brief recovery.

“You’re able to hear the coaches on the sideline during the games, and if I’m not practicing I’m standing by (the coaching staff) and hearing everything they’re talking about,” he said. “I just learn more about the game every day.”

Thompson played four minutes across two stints (one either side of halftime) in Sunday’s win over the Spartans. He ran with a bulky brace on his right knee, and his assessment of his status Tuesday suggested he’s still working his way toward feeling fully free of aftereffects.

But the timing of his recovery means he should be healthy for what will be his last trip home in an IU uniform.

In his COVID waiver-allowed sixth season, Thompson is set to be available for Wednesday’s game at Minnesota, his hometown. He always draws a crowd at Williams Arena, but this one might be bigger. Thompson estimated Tuesday he’s helped arrange tickets for as many as 60 friends and family, as Indiana hopes to make it four wins on the spin against the struggling Gophers.

Two weeks ago, Thompson wondered if his career was over, just as IU fans wondered if this season might be pointed toward a similarly disappointing end. Now everyone has had some life breathed back into their hopes for 2023.

By his own admission, the injury has given Indiana’s most-experienced player one last new lease on life in college basketball.

“The way it felt, the way it looked, I thought my career here was over,” he said. “Coming back, I have even more intensity, more want to be here every day … being grateful to continue to play here.”

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Hoosiers basketball: Race Thompson back from injury grateful