“I still have a couple records, but we don’t talk too much about that,” said grandpa Bill French.
French, 83, graduated from Sauk Rapids in 1959, when he set the school record for most points per game at 37, ”and I only played half the game,” he said. He also holds the highest points average in a season at 24, and “they didn’t have three-pointers, you know,” he said. High schools adopted the long-range shot in the late ′80s.
“He’s put in so much effort since the fourth grade and just playing all year round, especially in basketball, this football was a surprise,” French said of his grandson.
Richard Thompson added: “We thought he was going to be basketball and baseball. He went to a football camp when he was a 10th-grader. He loved it so much that he forgot about baseball.”
No matter the sport, their grandson has their unending support.
“It feels great. Just very grateful that I still have all four grandparents. They get to come watch me play basketball all the time [and] play football,” Thompson said. “My goal is for them to be able to watch me play in college. Hopefully that can happen.”
