Coaching legend John Thompson, who died at 78, played key role in KC’s hoops hall
As the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City came together, it needed the support of the college hoops community.
What better way for that to happen than to receive the endorsement of its biggest stars.
Coach John Thompson was one of those figures
Thompson, who died Sunday at 78, won an NCAA Championship and took Georgetown to two other Final Fours, coached such luminaries as Patrick Ewing and Allen Iverson and is credited with influencing a generation of minority coaches.
He also was an early champion of the College Basketball Experience and Hall of Fame, an attraction at the T-Mobile Center (then Sprint Center) in downtown Kansas City.
“Where he played a big role in the early years was his attendance and participation in the process and the induction ceremonies,” said Jim Haney, the retiring executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
The NABC is the engine behind the hall of fame, and Thompson, who retired from coaching in 1999, attended the hall of fame’s organizational meetings.
Thompson also came to several of the early induction ceremonies and introduced his former Boston Celtics teammate, Bill Russell, at the inaugural event in 2006. The ceremony attracted many of the biggest names in basketball.
“In the early years, when we were trying to gain credibility, having John Thompson and Mike Krzyzewski and Bob Knight participate was important.
“And it was just their public comments. It was taking the time to be part of the ceremonies. I thought that was huge on the impact it had for future inductees.”
Some of the brightest stars in basketball — college and pro — have been part of the induction events. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Shaquille O’Neal are among those who have been honored as founding class members.
Thompson was a standout player at Providence College and spent two seasons with the Celtics before starting his coaching career at St. Anthony’s High in Washington D.C.
In 1972, he accepted the only college job in his career, taking over at Georgetown.
He spent the next 27 years developing the Hoyas into an elite program. At 6-foot-10 and thus a towering figure on the sideline with a trademark white towel draped over his shoulder during games, Thompson reached he peak of his success in the early 1980s.
The 1982 Hoyas team, led by Ewing as a freshman, fell to North Carolina and freshman star Michael Jordan in the NCAA title game.
The Hoyas won it all in 1984 and the next year fell to Villanova in the championship game — one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history.
Thompson finished with a 596-239 career record and took Georgetown to 20 NCAA Tournaments.
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 1:56 PM.