The Interview: Marcus Hayes talks roundball and red-velvet pancakes with Hollis Thompson

IT MIGHT be faint praise, but no Sixer has been a more consistent presence in the rebuilding process than swingman Hollis Thompson. Friday marked his 200th game as a Sixer - the only NBA team he has played for since he left Georgetown after his junior year.

That decision meant a season spent in basketball purgatory, the NBA Developmental League, where desperate players play a fractured game in small cities (like Tulsa, Okla.) with the goal of catching some NBA general manager's eye. Thompson caught the eye of Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, who saw potential in his 6-foot-8 frame, along with his quick release and lack of discernible conscience when it came to shooting three-pointers.

Thompson, a Pasadena, Calif., native, honed his footwork and shooting stroke and now hits 40 percent of his threes.

That stat will keep him employed for a long time in a league that places such a premium on the long ball.

Marcus Hayes caught up with him after the first Sixers practice following the All-Star break. He had just finished his draining post-practice drill: shooting 100 3-pointers, coming off screens, from all different points on the court.

He was not even out of breath. Well, Thompson wasn't, anyway.

Q What's it like in Tulsa, Okla.?

Well, I'm from L.A. and went to college in D.C., so Tulsa was ... different. Really slow-paced. You have a chance to get to know yourself in a place like that. And they had real good barbecue.

Q I get the impression that you're kind of a foodie. What are your favorite places in Tulsa, Philly, D.C., and L. A.?

Well, I like to have good places to eat. Tulsa - it's been awhile, so I'll have to check my GrubHub app. D.C. - any place they have carryout chicken, or even just wings, and good Mumbo sauce.

Philly? The Green Egg [officially, Green Eggs Cafe]. It's really good. They have a few spots. I go to the ones on 2nd Street [in Northern Liberties] and near South Street. Red velvet pancakes! And Circles Thai, on 2nd Street. It's delicious there.

As for L.A. - there's too many. I don't want to get into trouble.

Q Growing up near L.A., as the middle child of five, did you have a middle-child complex? Did you act out to get attention? Were you the best athlete?

Oh, no. I don't want attention. Just wanted to be quiet and do my thing.

As for athletics - well, we just came off All-Star break, and my brother Bryan, who's 31, challenged me to a shooting contest. I did not let him win.

Q You sound like your college coach at Georgetown, John

Thompson III - quiet but competitive. His father was a bigger-than-life, bombastic guy when he coached. What is the son like?

Very ... methodical. Meticulous. A lot of attention to detail. I think I'm like that, too. The little details make a big difference in this business.

Q Did that background serve you well after you declared for the draft? You went pro after your junior season, but you weren't drafted and spent a season in the NBA Developmental League in Tulsa. Do you regret that decision?

Regret it? No. I was 21. I thought I'd gotten everything I could out of college basketball. I was ready to become a professional.

I mean, nobody plans to go to the D-League, but I had to go that route. It helped me. Made me a better player.