THOMPSON DIES AT 78
Former Georgetown coach and Hall of Famer John Thompson has died at the age of 78
WASHINGTON—John Thompson, the imposing Hall of Famer who t urned Georgetown into a“Hoya Paranoia” powerhouse and became the first Black coach to lead a team to the NCAA men's basketball championship, has died. He was 78.
His death was announced in a family statement released by Georgetown on Monday. No details were disclosed.
“Our father was an inspiration to many and devoted his life to developing young people not simply on but, most importantly, off the basketball court. He is revered as a historic shepherd of the sport, dedicated to the welfare of his community above all else,” the statement said. “However, for us, his greatest legacy remains as a father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. More than a coach, he was our foundation. More than a legend, he was the voice in our ear everyday.”
One of the most celebrated and polarizing figures in his sport, Thompson took over a moribund Georgetown program in the 1970 sand molded it in his unique style into a perennial contender, culminating with a national championship team anchored by center Patrick Ewing in 1984.
Georgetown reached
two other title games with Thompson in charge and Ewing patrolling the paint, losing to Michael Jordan' s North Carolina team in 1982 and to Villanova in 1985.
At 6-foot-10, with an everpresent white towel slung over his shoulder, Thompson literally and figuratively towered over the Hoyas for decades, becoming a patriarch of sorts after he quit coaching in 1999.
One of his sons, John Thompson III, was hired as
Georgetown's coach in 2004. When the son was fired in 2017, the elder Thompson — known affectionately as “Big John” or “Pops” to many — was at the news conference announcing Ewing as the successor.
Along the way, Thompson said what he thought and took positions that weren't always popular. He never shied away from sensitive topics— particularly the role of race in both sports and society — and
he once famously walked off the court before a game to protest an NCAA rule because he felt it hurt minority athletes.
“I'll probably be remembered for all the things that kept me out of t he Hall of Fame, ironically, more than for the things that got me into it,” Thompson said on the day he was elected to the Hall in 1999.
Thompson became coach of the Hoyas in 1972 and began re making a team that was 3-23 the previous season.
Over the next 27 years, he led Georgetown to 14 straight NCAA tournaments ( 1 979- 92), 24 consecutive postseason appearances (20 NCAA, 4 NIT), three Final Fours (1982, 1984, 1985) and won six Big East tournament championships.
“He was one of a ki nd,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, a fierce rival for many years in the Big East Conference, said Monday.
Employing a physical, defense-focused approach that frequently relied on a dominant center — Alonzo Mourning and Dik em be Mutombo were among hi s other pupils—Thompson compiled a 596- 239 record (.715 winning percentage). He had 26 players drafted by the NBA.
A stickler for academics, he kept a deflated basketball on his desk, a reminder to his players that a degree was a necessity because a career in basketball relied on a tenuous “nine pounds of air.”
Thompson went to Providence College as one of the most touted basketball prospects in the country and led the Friars to the first NCAA bid in school history. He graduated in 1964 and played two seasons with Red Auerbach's Boston Celtics, earning a pair of championship rings as a sparingly used backup to Bill Russell.