Legendary Georgetown Men’s Basketball Coach, John Thompson Jr., has died. He was 78.
Thompson, also known as “Big John,” won a national championship with the Hoyas in 1984. The championship made him the first black head basketball coach to win a NCAA basketball title.
Thompson graduated from Providence College in 1964, as the schools leader in points, scoring average and field goal percentage. He was drafted by the Celtics in the third round of the 1964 NBA draft. In Boston, Thompson won two NBA championships before beginning a high school coaching career in 1966.
After leaving St. Anthony High School, Thompson got a job coaching the Hoyas in 1972. There he built a powerhouse program. In his tenure, he took Georgetown to three final fours and won seven Big East championships. He also coached the 1988 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball team to a bronze medal, the last Olympics the U.S. played college players. He coached Georgetown for 27 seasons.
Individually, Thompson won the coach of the year award in 1982 and 1985 and the Big East coach of the year in ’80, ’87, ’92. He was inducted into the basketball hall of fame in 1999.
Thompson coached a number of players who made a career in the NBA and had impact off the court. Four are enshrined in the hall of fame as well, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Patrick Ewing and Allen Iverson.
At his Hall of Fame speech, Allen Iverson stood next to Thompson who said the college coach, “saved my life.”
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