One of his sons, John Thompson III, was hired as Georgetown’s coach in 2004. John Thompson, the Hall of Fame Georgetown basketball coach who won 596 games and a national championship in his storied career, passed away Monday at the age of 78. Thompson’s son, Princeton graduate John III, later coached Georgetown from 2004 to 2017 and was succeeded in the position by Ewing. Over the next 27 years, he led Georgetown to 14 straight NCAA tournaments (1979-92), 24 consecutive postseason appearances (20 NCAA, 4 NIT), three Final Fours (1982, 1984, 1985), and won six Big East tournament championships.Employing a physical, defense-focused approach that frequently relied on a dominant center — Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo were among his other pupils — Thompson compiled a 596-239 record (.715 winning percentage). I find the question extremely offensive.”Born Sept. 2, 1941, John R. Thompson Jr. grew up in Washington, D.C. His father was always working — on a farm in Maryland and later as a laborer in the city — and could neither read nor write.“I never in my life saw my father’s hands clean,” Thompson told the Associated Press in 2007. 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. 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 N.C.A.A. tournament, Thompson built teams around the centers Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning and the guard Allen Iverson. 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. 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. “He is revered as a historic shepherd of the sport, dedicated to the welfare of his community above all else.“However, for us, his greatest legacy remains as a father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. He was 78.When Thompson was named Georgetown’s coach in 1972, the Hoyas were coming off a 3-23 season and had been to only one N.C.A.A. The first Black coach to lead a team to the N.C.A.A. quoted him as having said. Opposition from Thompson and others led the N.C.A.A. 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,” the statement said.
John Thompson Jr., Legendary Georgetown Basketball Coach, Dies At 78 The Hall of Famer led the Georgetown men's team to 24 consecutive postseason appearances. He was fired in 2017 and succeeded by Ewing.In addition to his son John, Thompson’s survivors include another son, Ronny, a former assistant at Georgetown and head coach at Ball State University in Indiana, and a daughter, Tiffany Thompson. His marriage to Gwendolyn Twitty ended in divorce.Thompson bristled when the news media referred him as a racial pioneer for his coaching achievements. 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 N.C.A.A. Two years later, Ewing led an 84-75 win over Houston in the title game. The rule, he said, was biased against disadvantaged students. I thought that was the color of his hands. He became a sports radio talk show host and a TV and radio game analyst, joining the very profession he had frustrated so often as a coach. It was a result so disappointing that Thompson put himself on a sort of self-imposed leave at Georgetown for a while, coaching practices and games but leaving many other duties to his assistants.Off the court, Thompson was both a role model and a lightning rod.
“Other Blacks have been denied the right in this country; coaches who have the ability. 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 Knick Hall of Famer, who will be entering his fourth season as Georgetown’s head coach this fall, said in a statement. Ewing, now Georgetown’s head coach, called Thompson “a father figure, confidant and role model.”Thompson after Georgetown beat Syracuse University, 87-81, to win the Big East championship in 1980.Anestis Diakopoulos/Providence Journal, via Associated PressThompson in 2013 with his son, John III, who coached the Georgetown men’s basketball team from 2004 to 2017. 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. 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. Later that year, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.He was a basketball commentator on television and radio after that. “Other Blacks have been denied the right in this country; coaches who have the ability.