Big East Basketball: John Thompson’s rise to becoming an all-time great

Taking a look at the life and career of former Georgetown coaching legend John Thompson.

The basketball world suffered a great loss early in the week with the passing of Hall of Fame head coach John Thompson. After a brief playing career as a center, Thompson rose to fame with nearly three decades as head coach at Georgetown, leading the Hoyas to their first national championship in 1984. He recruited and coached impressive talent, including Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, and Allen Iverson during his long run with Georgetown.

Thompson grew up in Washington, DC, the same place where his coaching career would take off many years later. He developed as a talented center, starring at the high school level before enrolling at Providence in 1961.

Thompson spent three impressive seasons playing for the Friars, helping led the program to the NIT title in 1963. At the time of his departure, Thompson was the program’s leader in points, and field goal percentage, and remains one of the greatest big men the Friars have seen.

A few months after his collegiate career ended, he was selected in the third round of the 1964 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. Serving as the primary backup to Hall of Famer Bill Russell, Thompson won a pair of NBA titles, though his stats and opportunities were quite meager. He was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 1966 expansion draft but chose to retire instead of relocating.

Soon after, his coaching career began, taking a job at St. Anthony High School in his native Washington DC. Over the next six years, he helped lead the school to an impressive record, while also serving as a guidance counselor for the school. He was already seen as a rising star in the coaching ranks, which escalated greatly when Georgetown tabbed him for their top job in 1972.

When Thompson took over, Georgetown was not a successful basketball program. They were an independent school who had appeared in only one of the first 34 NCAA Tournaments, nearly two decades prior. The Hoyas were coming off a depressing 3-23 season and looked nothing like a future contender for national championships.

But Thompson got straight to work, slowly building the program up. By 1975, his third season, he had gotten the Hoyas back to the NCAA Tournament. He would lead the Hoyas to twenty NCAA Tournament appearances, including a stretch of 18 in 19 years during the glory days of Georgetown basketball.

He was also part of the very beginning of Big East Basketball. Coach Thompson and Georgetown were one of the six programs that were part of the conference’s first season in Division 1, along with another Hall of Famer in Jim Boeheim of Syracuse. Those two were part of some legendary battles in the league for 20+ years and the hard-nosed defensive styles were a hallmark of what the Big East became famous for.

Thompson brought some incredible talent to Georgetown, highlighted by future Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, who today leads the Georgetown program himself. The Hoyas won the 1984 NCAA Tournament and fell just short of repeating the following season, losing the title game in a massive upset to Villanova. Having made the Final Four in 1982 as well, Thompson had built one of the decades’ greatest program.

Success continued for the Hoyas, even if it was never that great. Future legends like Dikembe Mutumbo, Sleepy Floyd, and Allen Iverson all played at Georgetown under his watch. He was known not only as an intimidating figure on the sidelines for his size but as a passionate hero for the sport. He fought aggressively for freshmen to be allowed to play and fought viciously when his players became tangled with infamous druglord Rayful Edmond III.

Thompson retired from coaching in 1999 and never worked for a university other than Georgetown. He is the epitome of Hoyas basketball and his legacy will live forever with the program. His son John would become the head coach a few years after his retirement and lead Georgetown back to the Final Four in 2007.

He absolutely remains one of the most successful African American coaches in the sport’s history. Most importantly, he was more than just a coach to his players; they were special to him, just as he was special to them. Thompson didn’t win a boatload of national championships or break any statistical records, but it’s hard to find another coach who can match his legacy and what it meant for college basketball.

That goes for Big East Basketball as well, who owes a huge debt of gratitude to the man who had a major part in how famous and prestigious the league is today. Known for toughness, effort, and success, Coach Thompson left a mark on the conference, both on and off the court.