NCAA Basketball: Ranking best head coaching hires from the year 2000

8. John Thompson III (Princeton)

There are many ways to judge a solid hire, and it doesn’t require rebuilding a stagnant program to do so. Princeton was in great shape in 2000, having made three of the last five NCAA Tournaments. Legendary coach Pete Carril retired in 1996, leaving Bill Carmody in charge of the program before he departed for Northwestern. In need of another new leader, the Tigers turned to another talented member of their staff.

John Thompson III played and coached under Carril and Carmody and was entrusted with keeping this program as one of the very best in the Ivy League. At that point, he had no prior experience away from Princeton, though he certainly knew the game of basketball, as his father had led Georgetown to the national championship nearly two decades prior. Simply put, the younger Thompson succeeded in this his first head coaching stop.

In his four seasons at the helm, the Tigers won more than 80% of their Ivy League games and made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2004. Throw in an NIT berth in 2002 and it was a very solid stretch of basketball from Princeton, now almost a decade removed from Carril’s influence.

Seeing how the program has taken a step back since Thompson’s departure in 2004 only showcases his importance to the Tigers. Considering he led Georgetown to a Final Four not three years later, it’s fair to say he’s a pretty solid coach.