Hutch’s Thompson goes from hospital to helping Barton win National Championship
GREAT BEND, Kan. (KSNW) — The City of Great Bend and Barton Community College boosters hosted a celebration Wednesday night for their national champion Cougars men’s basketball team.
One of Barton’s key players who was signing autographs with his teammates, Myles Thompson, says he’s always been driven by the feeling of being overlooked. That attitude served him well when the game he loves was almost taken away from him less than two years ago.
It’s been ten days since the Barton Cougars won their first-ever men’s basketball national title.
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“Tonight it hit me, you know, we won the national championship,” said Head Coach Jeremy Coombs. “There were a lot of people that are really excited about what we did and are very proud of these guys and that hard work that really paid off.”
“Super special to see all the people who wanted to come out and support us and were at the games all year,” said Myles. “They came out and wanted to get signatures and wanted to take pictures with guys.”
Myles Thompson (Courtesy: Everett Royer) Myles Thompson (Courtesy: Brandon Smith) Myles Thompson (Courtesy: Brandon Smith) Myles Thompson (Courtesy: BCC Public Relations) Myles Thompson (Courtesy: Brandon Smith) Myles Thompson (Courtesy: Brandon Smith)
It wasn’t too long ago Myles wasn’t sure if he’d ever play basketball again. The 6-7 forward from Hutchinson High School was preparing for his sophomore season in the fall of 2022.
“Right around early September, they were getting close to the jamborees, so it was the preseason. He felt ill. Sick,” said his father, Joel Thompson.
Then Myles’s lower right leg and ankle began to bother him. So much so that his father drove to Barton, picked him up, and took him back home to Hutchinson.
“Took him to the ER because he was starting to have these rigors, which are kind of uncontrollable shaking with a fever, and they were from an infection he had. A blood infection,” said Joel.
Myles was taken by ambulance to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
“When he found out that the sickness was, you know, so bad that they were gonna have to do surgery to just try to get the infection out,” he said. “When you know you’re gonna have surgery, I knew the season was pretty much over me.”
Myles was hospitalized in Wichita for three weeks.
Myles Thompson in the hospital (Courtesy: Joel Thompson) Myles Thompson in the hospital (Courtesy: Joel Thompson) Myles Thompson in the hospital (Courtesy: Joel Thompson) Myles Thompson in the hospital (Courtesy: Joel Thompson) Warning: sensitive content Myles Thompson in the hospital (Courtesy: Joel Thompson) Myles Thompson in the hospital (Courtesy: Joel Thompson)
“It was a scary situation. You know, I’m blessed that we were able to just figure out what it was, and you know, get rid of it,” he said.
“He’s such a tough young man. Such a great, positive young man that it was, it was great to see him battle and fight through all that,” said Coombs, who recruited Myles when he was the head coach at Neosho County Community College in Chanute.
Myles’ battle began with a rigorous regime of cardio and physical therapy. He was taking four different antibiotics. He advanced to drills designed to strengthen his ankle. He spent the summer of 2023 practicing with the Hutchinson High basketball team. In the fall, he started practicing with his Barton teammates.
Myles was out for five months. Coombs noticed he was a different, better player than the one he knew before the illness.
“He really was appreciative of where he was at that point in time. You know, basketball could have been taken from him. Athletics could have been taken from him,” said the third-year head coach.
So, Myles was granted a rare third redshirt sophomore junior college season. He started all 37 games.
“You know, when I went to the hospital, I kind of felt maybe that there was some doubt that I could come back and really perform at a high level and be a difference-maker for the team, and I wanted to show that I wasn’t only going to be the same player, but I was going to become a better version of what I was before,” he said.
When Myles was a youngster growing up in Hutchinson, he and his father attended Hutchinson Blue Dragons games as often as possible. They also went to the NJCAA DI National Championship Tournament every year. Myles watched so many great players on the Hutch Sports Arena court through the years, and now was his chance to shine on that same court.
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Myles saved his best for last. He averaged over 20 points per game in Barton’s final six postseason games, including a 27-point, 13-rebound performance in the national championship game.
“I didn’t want to let those other guys down. I knew that we had a chance to make a real run,” he said.
“I told people, I think he’s just seen it so much in his mind. He’s seen it so many times in his mind in that arena in those games growing up, and then as we got closer and closer to it, I think that’s why he was able to do that because he’d already lived it in his mind,” said his father. “And then he just made it come to life those last couple of weeks of the season.”
Really, Myles’ story at Barton couldn’t have a better ending.
“Barton’s been a true blessing, and I’m just thankful,” he said.
Myles’ parents, Joel and Abby, are beyond proud of their son. Joel says he admires what Myles has been through and how he’s approached his remarkable comeback.
Like many of his Barton teammates, Myles wants to continue playing basketball at the Division I level. He says he’s been talking to a few schools from the Big Sky and Ohio Valley Conferences and the Summit League.
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