A reminder that Klay Thompson loves WSU as much as you do

A couple of months ago, when the Washington State Cougars were visiting the Bay Area to play Cal and Stanford, the Spokesman-Review’s Theo Lawson made a side trip to another part of the Bay Area to visit WSU’s most famous sports alumnus: Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.

In that interview, Thompson perfectly illustrates why college sports are different from pro sports, particularly at a place like WSU that lacks the so-called “T-shirt fans” that fill out a lot of other fan bases:

When I first got to Pullman, it was hard, but that place immediately grew on me. By my junior year, I had the most fun in my life just being a college kid, and we had great crowds at Beasley. It wouldn’t be 11,000 every night, but it would be 6-7,000, which you can’t complain about in college. That’s why it’s sad, man. I watch the games and Beasley’s barely full. I remember playing at Gonzaga, Washington, those guys are packed. It’s unfortunate, but I’m just very grateful I was a Coug. If I was to do it all over again, I’d still go to Washington State.

NBA champion, gold medalist ... and just like you and me.

A more unfortunate part of the interview, by the way, is where Thompson says he thinks the Cougs could be pretty good at basketball next year, basing that assessment on the presence of Malachi Flynn and Robert Franks.

Sigh.

Thompson is set to play in game two of the Warriors’ first round series against the San Antonio Spurs tonight at 7:30 p.m. PT. He scored 27 points on 13 shots in the Warriors’ game one win.

UPDATE