Big East Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)
By Joey Loose
6. Big East Basketball power rankings – John Thompson III (Georgetown, 2004-2017)
Simply put, Thompson had enormous shoes to fill when he took over at Georgetown in 2004. His father had coached the Hoyas to their first national championship in 1984, led by Hall-of-Famer Patrick Ewing. The younger Thompson had spent four years dominating the Ivy League with Princeton and was ready for the challenge with the Hoyas, but how would he compare to his father?
Thompson did not bring another title to the Hoyas in his 13th year, but he did lead Georgetown to the Final Four in 2007. He won three Big East regular-season titles and took Georgetown to eight NCAA Tournament appearances. Under Thompson’s guide, Georgetown was a yearly contender for national prominence in the Big East, though that greatest success came in his first few years with the Hoyas.
Unfortunately, that success fizzled out and Thompson was fired in 2017. He was succeeded by Ewing himself and things haven’t exactly turned around at this point. Thompson is directly responsible for turning around this program in the late 2000’s and any coach who can make a Final Four is doing something right. It’s a shame he couldn’t take Georgetown to the next level, but this is still a fantastic run of coaching in his father’s shadow.