It's all relative: Thompsons commit to Albany

It's the University at Albany — not Syracuse University — that snagged the most coveted Thompson boys in lacrosse.

The schools were battling for brothers Miles and Lyle Thompson — two Salmon River transfers now playing at LaFayette High School.

On Tuesday, Albany won the war, and not because of prowess.

"It's just that SU is like a powerhouse right now," Miles said. "Albany didn't win anything. We want to change that. We want to start something new."

Miles, a senior, will play for the Great Danes next season and joins his cousin, Ty, who signed his letter of intent on Sunday. Ty was a standout attackman at Salmon River last season and served as Section 10's most dangerous scorer. Lyle, a junior, will play for Albany during the 2012 season.

All three were recruited by Syracuse University, but proximity and neglect made Albany the final choice.

"SU talked to me, and they told me to send my transcript," Miles said. "I didn't hear from them after that."

When Miles made his verbal commitment over the summer, the Orange again came calling.

"That's when (Syracuse assistant) coach (Roy) Simmons called my dad," he said. "He wanted to know what was going on, and they started talking to me again."

Miles said Syracuse sent applications for scholarships, and after he filled out some forms, the communication ceased.

"That's when I decided," he said. "SU didn't seem like they were that interested."

Getting Lyle to come along was easy, even though neither one of them visited the Albany campus.

"I'm going where he's going," Lyle said. "We both made our decision together."

Lyle said he didn't want to stay so close to home for his college career, even though the original plan was to follow their older brother Jeremy to Syracuse.

That changed this fall when Syracuse seemed to stop recruiting the Thompsons, and after Ty visited Albany.

"We were all talking about it," Lyle said. "He went to visit and everything and was really happy about it. His overall plan wasn't to go to the same school as us."

Ty, the 2009 Times All-North MVP in the Northern Athletic Conference, wanted to play for Georgetown. He even passed up college out of high school to play for Salisbury Prep this season in hopes of attracting the Hoyas. But Georgetown pulled a Syracuse.

"They just stopped talking to me," Ty said. "And Albany started really talking to me."

With Albany at the forefront, Ty took a trip to campus and immediately voiced his approval to Miles and Lyle.

"I told them about what the atmosphere was like," he said. "I told them that we'd get to play together again."

Ty's decision wasn't based entirely on the campus visit or that Georgetown stopped pursuing him, however.

"I wanted to be closer to my family and my grandfather," he said. "He helped me out along the way, and I want him to see me play at the next level."

Miles, Lyle and Ty are even turning into recruiters before they put on the jersey. They're trying to get highly-touted players James Cathers of Corcoran High School in Syracuse and Randy Staats, who played for the under-19 years old Iroquois National team out of Canada, to commit to Albany as well.

"We all just know what each other plays like," Ty said. "I could see NCAA tournaments, and hopefully the final four."