Team USA’s dominance en route to a 6-0 record at the 2009 FIBA U-19 Men’s World Championships may not be much of a shocker to international basketball fans.

However, the fact that Georgia’s Trey Thompkins has likely been the MVP of a star-studded cast thus far comes as a welcome surprise to fans of Georgia and USA basketball.

After a hard-fought 76-69 win over European power Lithuania in the USA’s final game of group play Wednesday, Thompkins leads all USA scorers with 11.5 points per game and is the squad’s second-leading rebounder, averaging 5.6 boards per game.

Seemingly unphased by the bright lights of the international stage, Thompkins has been instrumental in all six of Team USA’s victories.

In the USA’s 85-69 defeat of Greece, Thompkins established himself early as a force under the basket, tallying a game-high 22 points on 10-of-14 from the field and snagging three rebounds.

After the defeat of Greece, Thompkins spoke briefly about his dominant offensive and defensive performance.

“I decided today that I was going to be very, very aggressive,” Thompkins said. “I heard that Greece liked to bump and bang, well I decided that I was going to be the guy that initiated it first and they were going to have to throw punches back.”

Thompkins turned in another stellar performance in Team USA’s 82-61 victory over Puerto Rico Tuesday, again leading all USA scorers with 14 points and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.

Thompkins’ contributions have helped secure a No. 1 seed for Team USA entering the quarterfinal round, which gets underway Friday, with the USA set to face off against No.4 seed Canada, who comes off a surprising victory over perennial powerhouse Argentina.

Should Thompkins and Team USA cruise to the finals on Sunday, July 12, they will most likely be matched up against Australia, who has looked strong, matching the USA’s undefeated record in group play.