Thompson, pioneering Hall of Fame NCAA coach, dies at 78
Coaching great led Georgetown to 20 tourney appearances, 1984 title
John Thompson Jr., the Hall of Fame basketball coach who led Georgetown University to national collegiate prominence and became the first African American coach to take a team to the NCAA basketball championship, died on Sunday. He was 78.
His death was announced in a family statement released through Georgetown. The statement did not say where he died or cite a cause, but CNN said a family source said that he died at his home in Arlington, Va., having experienced multiple health problems.
When Thompson was named Georgetown’s coach in 1972, the Hoyas were coming off a 3-23 season and had been to only one NCAA tournament, losing in the first round in 1943.
A burly 6 feet 10 inches tall, Thompson, who starred for Providence College before backing up Bill Russell at center on two Boston Celtic NBA championship teams, was an imposing figure on the sideline, his trademark white towel wrapped around his shoulders, in his 27 seasons at Georgetown.
Coaching the Hoyas to 20 appearances in the NCAA tournament, Thompson built teams around centers Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning and guard Allen Iverson. He emphasized strong defensive play as well.
“Georgetown University, the sport of basketball and the world has lost someone who I consider to be a father figure, confidant and role model,” Ewing, the Knicks Hall of Famer, who will be entering his fourth season as Georgetown’s head coach this fall, said in a statement. “He changed the world and helped shape the way we see it. He was a great coach but an even better person, and his legacy is everlasting.”
On Instagram, Mutombo wrote, “He was my mentor, great teacher, hero and a father figure to so many us who got the chance to play for him,” adding, “Under Coach Thompson, I learned a lot about the game of basketball, but most importantly, I learned how to be a man in society.”
Thompson’s Hoyas won the 1984 NCAA championship with an 84-75 victory over Houston.
Russell, who often spoke out on racial issues, embraced Thompson afterward and was quoted by ESPN as having said: “I’m more proud of him than if I did it myself. John and I have a special relationship and are philosophical allies.”
The Hoyas reached the tournament final again the following season, but were upset by Villanova.
Thompson’s Georgetown teams won 596 games and lost 239. They captured seven Big East titles. Thompson also coached the U.S. 1988 Olympic team to a bronze medal
His oldest son, John Thompson III, coached at Georgetown for 13 seasons.
Thompson was a vigorous advocate for affording Black athletes greater opportunities to pursue college degrees.
He walked off the court just before the opening tipoff at a home game against Boston College in January 1989 to protest an NCAA proposal to deny athletic scholarships to freshmen who didn’t meet certain academic requirements. He did not coach in Georgetown’s next game, against Providence, leaving the coaching to his assistants. The rule, he said, was biased against disadvantaged students. Opposition from Thompson and others led the NCAA to modify it.
Thompson kept a deflated basketball in his office to help his players realize that they need to prepare themselves for life after their athletic careers. Georgetown has said that of the 78 players who played four seasons under Thompson, 76 received their degrees.
John Robert Thompson Jr. was born on Sept. 2, 1941, in Washington. His father was a laborer who could not read or write. As Thompson told The Associated Press in 2007, “When I was still coaching, kids would show up late for practice” and he would tell them: “My father got up every morning of his life at 5 a.m. to go to work. Without an alarm.”
His parents, determined that he receive a good education, felt that Roman Catholic schools could provide him with a rigorous academic atmosphere.
Thompson was a star center at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington before leading Providence, a Dominican school, to the 1963 National Invitation Tournament title and, the next year, its first NCAA tournament appearance. He graduated with a degree in economics and later earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling at the University of the District of Columbia.
Thompson was a third-round draft pick of the Celtics in 1964 but saw only limited action playing behind Russell. He retired from the NBA after two seasons.
He became a guidance counselor and coached at St. Anthony High School in Washington, compiling a 122-28 record, before Georgetown hired him.
Thompson resigned as Georgetown’s head coach in January 1999, citing personal issues. Later that year, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.