Morningside High’s Thompson Steps to the Front and Center : Basketball: The senior, who will attend USC in the fall, has the Monarchs believing they can win another state title.

It wasn’t as if Tina Thompson always wanted to do things on her own. She longed to dribble down to Robertson Park, shoot around with the fellas on the main court, get chosen for a game and earn some respect.

What held her back? Someone who didn’t want his younger sister hanging around.

“My brother would say, ‘Go to another court,’ ” Thompson said. “But I wanted to play with the big guys.”

No longer does Thompson have to worry about being picked to play at Robertson Park, which is near her home in the Crescent Heights area. She has other places to play now, with people who want her as a teammate.

Thompson, 17, is a senior center on the Morningside High girls’ basketball team. Although she has to take a 35-minute bus trip every morning to get to Morningside, Thompson says it is worth it to play for “a good program.”

Averaging 15 points and 12 rebounds a game, she has led Morningside to a 18-2 record. Those numbers should make her revered by teammates. They probably call her Magic or Michael or maybe even Cheryl, for Miller, that is. Right?

Wrong. Try Mickey.

“She looks like Mickey Mouse,” Monarch point guard Kameisha Prewitt said. “That’s all I call her, I never call her Tina.”

Being compared to that storied cartoon figure doesn’t unnerve Thompson. It’s when another comparison is made that Thompson becomes slightly vexed.

“When I tell people I go to Morningside they say, ‘Isn’t that where Lisa Leslie went?’ ” Thompson said. “I kind of get tired of it. It’s not that I don’t like Lisa, she’s one of my favorite people.”

That’s a good thing, because next season Thompson will join Leslie on the USC basketball team.

Leslie, a 1990 Morningside graduate, led the Monarchs to two State Division I titles, a 124-9 record, and averaged 26.9 points a game during her senior season. At 6-foot-5, Leslie is three inches taller than Thompson. Although both are centers, their styles are different.

“(Thompson) has a better outside shot than Lisa, but Lisa’s inside game is stronger,” Prewitt said.

Both players should complement each other next season as Thompson will be moved from the pivot to the wing.

“She’s a natural forward,” USC Coach Mary Ann Stanley said.

Said Stanley: “She’s not fazed by anything. If you need her to dribble, she’s like, ‘OK I can do it.’ If you need her to shoot, ‘OK I can do it.’ She’s comfortable with anything.”

And being comfortable is what made her decision to sign a letter of intent with USC so easy. Thompson was also recruited by Arizona, Arizona State, California, Cal State Long Beach, San Diego State, Washington and Stanford.

Thompson couldn’t imagine being that far from home. “I didn’t want to go away, I wasn’t ready,” she said. “(USC) has a good law program and I want to be a lawyer.”

Thompson already has spent time as a sports agent. Her own.

“I did the whole thing myself,” she said of managing the recruiting process. “My parents felt it was my decision. I could handle it. I talked to the coaches and recruiters. I set up the meetings and everything.”

Thompson’s independence didn’t surprise Morningside girls’ basketball Coach Rod Tatum.

“She’s good at making up her own mind on what she wants to do,” Tatum said. “If she wanted to talk, I was there. It was her decision where she wanted to go. I’m happy she chose SC.”

After Thompson was named to several preseason All-American teams, Stanley couldn’t have been more thrilled to sign her.

“She’s quick, she can jump, she’s a great athlete and she’s an extremely bright player,” said Stanley, in her fourth year at USC. “What drew me to her was her character. She has a tenacity on the court that is a gift. She doesn’t back down and can rebound as good as any high school player I’ve seen.”

Thompson will enjoy the luxury of not having to be an instant savior for the Trojans, who are 12-4 and tied with Stanford for first place in the Pacific 10 Conference.

Currently, though, Thompson is the player the Monarchs rely on for points, rebounds and leadership. She says criticism comes with the role.

But Thompson has an answer for those who consider her a selfish player.

“It’s not like that,” she said. “I encourage the team more than myself.”

Tatum says Thompson can be misunderstood at times.

“She’s vocal on the court, probably a little too much,” said Tatum, 42. “Sometimes kids think she’s mad at them, but she’s not. She’s just trying to fire them up.”

At a recent practice, Thompson kept her teammates loose, making jokes and making shots. They know Thompson could lead them to a state final, something Morningside came within two games of reaching last season. The Lady Monarchs lost in the Division III regional semifinals to Rancho Alamitos, 86-78, and finished 18-12. Morningside was Southern Section Division III-AA runner-up to eventual state champion Brea-Olinda.

“She’s there when we need her,” Prewitt said. “She hustles and she works hard.”

And people are taking notice. Especially in Robertson Park.

“The same people who wouldn’t let me play before are asking me to play,” Thompson said, beaming. “Now, I’m one of the big guys.”