John Thompson, Jr., the legendary former head coach of the Georgetown Hoya men's basketball team, has died at age 78. In 1984, Thompson became the first African-American NCAA head coach to win the NCAA championship. He coached the Hoyas for 27 years, from 1972 to 1999.
Thompson played at Providence College where he was awarded All-American honors; and was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1964, winning two NBA titles in his two-year career. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Thompson was coach and mentor to a long list of Georgetown greats and future basketball Hall of Fame inductees; like Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning and 2001 NBA MVP Allen Iverson. "The world has lost a revolutionary icon and a leader," Mourning posted under an Instagram picture of him during his Hoya days with Coach Thompson.
"Under coach Thompson, I learned a lot about the game of basketball but most importantly, I learned how to be a man in society," shared Mutombo.
Iverson wrote:
"Thanks For Saving My Life Coach. I’m going to miss you, but I’m sure that you are looking down on us with a big smile. I would give anything just for one more phone call from you only to hear you say, “Hey MF”, then we would talk about everything except basketball. May you always Rest in Paradise, where there is no pain or suffering. I will always see your face in my mind, hoping that I made you proud. 'Your Prodigal Son'. #Hoya4Life"
You can read Iverson, Mutombo, Mourning and others' reactions to the death of the coaching legend.
*CREDIT: Allen Iverson and John Thompson, head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas, talk during a basketball game against the Boston College on January 10, 1995 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)