John Thompson III

Last updated
John Thompson III
2019 John Thompson III (48824316842) (cropped).jpg
John Thompson III (2019)
Biographical details
Born (1966-03-11) March 11, 1966 (age 58)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Playing career
1984–1988 Princeton
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1995–2000 Princeton (assistant)
2000–2004Princeton
2004–2017 Georgetown
Head coaching record
Overall346–193 (.641)
Tournaments9–10 (NCAA Division I)
3–4 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA Division I Regional – Final Four (2007)
3 Ivy League regular season (2001, 2002, 2004)
3 Big East regular season (2007, 2008, 2013)
Big East tournament (2007)
Awards
Big East Coach of the Year (2013)

John Robert Thompson III (born March 11, 1966) is a professional basketball coach and executive who has been the assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team since 2017. He previously served as the head coach of the men's basketball team at Georgetown University. He grew up in Washington, D.C., and was named first team All-Metro by The Washington Post while playing for Gonzaga College High School in 1984. Thompson was hired on April 20, 2004, to replace Craig Esherick and was fired at the end of the 2017 season. Prior to being hired at Georgetown, Thompson was the head coach for four years at his alma mater, Princeton University. Thompson is the son of John Thompson Jr, Georgetown's head coach from 1972 to 1999, and is a 1988 graduate of Princeton University.

Contents

Coaching career

Princeton

Thompson talks with a referee in a 2006 game John Thompson III.jpg
Thompson talks with a referee in a 2006 game

Thompson was hired by Princeton in 2000 as a replacement for Bill Carmody, who had departed for Northwestern after having led them to the NCAA Tournament and the National Invitation Tournament twice each. Thompson guided the Tigers to a record of 16–11 (11–3 conference record), which was good enough to win the Ivy League for the first time since 1998. The following year, the Tigers went 16–12 (11–4) to finish in a three-way tie for the Ivy League title, which resulted in them having to play in a tiebreaker tournament, which they lost to Yale. The following year, they went 16–11 (10–4) and finished 3rd in the conference. In his final season in 2003, he led them to twenty wins while losing only one conference game to win the Ivy League for the third time in Thompson's four years at the program and the sixth overall time in the last eight years.

Georgetown

Thompson was hired by Georgetown in 2004 to replace Craig Esherick. Esherick (as had been the case with his predecessor John Thompson) had utilized an offense built on quick and physical play; however, Georgetown had not made the NCAA Tournament in six of the last seven years. Thompson III immediately introduced the Princeton offense at Georgetown, a style of play that he learned from coach Pete Carril at Princeton as a player and assistant coach; the offense is cited as more deliberate in nature with establishing scoring opportunities through ball movement alongside passes and backdoor cuts. The 2004–05 team started out fair, with Thompson's first win over a ranked team coming against Pittsburgh on January 5. However, the Hoyas finished 16–11 after losing five straight games to end the regular season, which meant they finished 7th in the Big East Conference. They fell to Connecticut in the Quarterfinals of the Big East tournament, but the Hoyas were invited to the NIT that year; the Hoyas went to the Quarterfinal before losing to South Carolina.

In 2005, the team won 23 games while finish tied for fourth in the Big East, and they would receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament, the first for the team since 2001. Thompson's first notable win with the team took place on January 21, 2006, when unranked Georgetown upset No. 1 Duke. This was Georgetown's first win over a No. 1 ranked team in 21 years. The Hoyas received a seventh seed in the South Region. They beat Northern Iowa and Ohio State to reach the Sweet Sixteen against Florida, where they lost 57–53 to the eventual national champions.

The 2006 team, led by players such as Roy Hibbert, reached their potential. The Hoyas would go on a tremendous run that year, as they won twelve of their last thirteen games en route to a Big East championship. They won their first regular season title since 1997 before rolling to victory in the Big East tournament for their first tournament title since 1989. The Hoyas were seeded as a two-seed in the East Region, their highest seeding since 1996. They would beat Belmont, Boston College, and Vanderbilt to reach the Elite Eight. Facing the top seed in North Carolina, the Hoyas trailed by as much as eleven points with twelve minutes remaining before rallying to win 96–84 and reach the Final Four for the first time since 1985. They faced Ohio State in the Final Four; the game was tied with nine minutes remaining, but the Buckeyes went on a 23–16 run to beat Georgetown 67–60.

While the 2006–07 season was a banner year for the Hoyas, it also would prove to be the high point of Thompson's tenure at Georgetown. It would be the last time that the Hoyas would survive the tournament's opening weekend under Thompson; indeed, Thompson would only win two more tournament games.

The 2015–16 season was a disappointment for all sides involved. They notched one ranked victory in nonconference play and were 7–5, and expectations were fair for a contending team. Big East play would prove to be a disaster, as the Hoyas went 8–13, which included losing seven of the last eight games in the regular season. It was the first time in his tenure that the Hoyas were not invited to either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT. After the season, Thompson (dubbed one of the "most polarizing figures in college sports" by the campus newspaper) called the season the most challenging of his career. [1] [2] The 2016–17 season proved to be the last for Thompson as coach. A 9–4 non-conference record ended up being a mirage for a miserable season of Big East play, where they went 5–13. They managed to beat three ranked teams (including eleventh-ranked Butler in January), but the Hoyas lost seven of their last eight games to finish below .500 for the second straight year, which was the first time Georgetown had suffered back-to-back losing seasons since 1972–1973. On March 23, 2017 (fifteen days after the Hoyas lost in the First Round of the Big East tournament), Thompson was fired. [3] Thompson's 13-year tenure as head coach is the second longest in Georgetown history, and his 278 wins are also second all-time in school history–in both cases, only behind his father.

United States Men's National Team

On October 12, 2017, Thompson was named by USA Basketball as the assistant coach of the United States men's national basketball team for all FIBA World Cup qualifiers leading to the 2019 FIBA World Cup. This was his second time as an assistant coach in the National Programme; he has previously (2008) served as an assistant for the Under 18 men's team. [4]

Washington Wizards

In July 2019, Thompson joined Monumental Sports & Entertainment, owner of the NBA's Washington Wizards and WNBA's Washington Mystics, to become the lead of their newly formed athlete development and engagement department. [5]

Head coaching record

John Thompson III outside McDonough Gymnasium on March 26, 2007, following his return to the Georgetown University campus after defeating North Carolina to reach the 2007 Final Four. JTIII campout.jpg
John Thompson III outside McDonough Gymnasium on March 26, 2007, following his return to the Georgetown University campus after defeating North Carolina to reach the 2007 Final Four.
Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Princeton Tigers (Ivy League)(2000–2004)
2000–01 Princeton 16–1111–31st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2001–02 Princeton 16–1211–3T–1st NIT First Round
2002–03 Princeton 16–1110–43rd
2003–04 Princeton 20–813–11st NCAA Division I Round of 64
Princeton:68–42 (.618)45–11 (.804)
Georgetown Hoyas (Big East Conference)(2004–2017)
2004–05 Georgetown 19–138–8T–7th NIT Quarterfinal
2005–06 Georgetown 23–1010–6T–4th NCAA Division I Sweet 16
2006–07 Georgetown 30–713–31st NCAA Division I Final Four
2007–08 Georgetown 28–615–31st NCAA Division I Round of 32
2008–09 Georgetown 16–157–1111th NIT First Round
2009–10 Georgetown 23–1110–87th NCAA Division I Round of 64
2010–11 Georgetown 21–1110–88th NCAA Division I Round of 64
2011–12 Georgetown 24–912–6T–4th NCAA Division I Round of 32
2012–13 Georgetown 25–714–4T–1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2013–14 Georgetown 18–158–107th NIT Second Round
2014–15 Georgetown 22–1112–6T–2nd NCAA Division I Round of 32
2015–16 Georgetown 15–187–118th
2016–17 Georgetown 14–185–139th
Georgetown:278–151 (.653)131–94 (.580)
Total:346–193 (.641)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Thompson (basketball)</span> American college basketball coach (1941–2020)

John Robert Thompson Jr. was an American college basketball coach for the Georgetown Hoyas men's team. He became the first African-American head coach to win a major collegiate championship in basketball when he led the Hoyas to the NCAA Division I national championship in 1984. Thompson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Craig Robert Esherick is an American academic, lawyer, and former basketball coach who is currently an assistant professor of sport management for George Mason University and color commentator for college basketball games. He was formerly the head coach of the Georgetown University men's basketball team and assistant basketball coach and scout for the 1988 U.S. Men's Olympic basketball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball</span> Mens basketball team of Georgetown University

The Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball program represents Georgetown University in NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball and the Big East Conference. Georgetown has competed in men's college basketball since 1907. The current head coach of the program is Ed Cooley.

The 1984–85 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1984–85 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 13th season as head coach. They played their home games at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season with a record of 35-3, 14-2 in Big East play. They won the 1985 Big East men's basketball tournament and advanced to the final of the 1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, which they lost to Big East rival Villanova in what is widely regarded as one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history. They were ranked No. 1 in the season's final Associated Press Poll and Coaches' Poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006–07 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2006–07 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team was an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big East Conference representing Georgetown University. The Hoyas finished first place in the conference, won the conference tournament, and advanced to the semifinals in the NCAA tournament. The 2006–07 season marked the centennial of Hoya hoops, which was celebrated by honoring some of the team's most famous alumni at the Georgetown-Marquette game on February 10, 2007. The team was led by juniors, forward Jeff Green, center Roy Hibbert, and point guard Jonathan Wallace. The team's freshmen were DaJuan Summers, Vernon Macklin, and Jeremiah Rivers. Other regular players are Tyler Crawford, Jessie Sapp, and Patrick Ewing Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004–05 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2004–05 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2004–05 NCAA Division I college basketball season. The Hoyas were coached by John Thompson III – his first year at Georgetown – and played their home games at the MCI Center in Washington, DC. The Hoyas are members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 19–13, 8–8 in Big East play. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2005 Big East men's basketball tournament before losing to Connecticut They played in the 2005 National Invitation Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003–04 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2003–04 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2003–04 NCAA Division I college basketball season. The Hoyas were coached by Craig Esherick and played their home games at the MCI Center in Washington, DC. The Hoyas were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 13-15, 4-12 in Big East play. They lost to Boston College in the first round of the 2004 Big East men's basketball tournament and had no further postseason play. It was the first time since the 1973-74 season that Georgetown did not receive an invitation to either the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament or the National Invitation Tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002–03 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2002–03 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2002–03 NCAA Division I college basketball season. The Hoyas were coached by Craig Esherick and played their home games at the MCI Center in Washington, DC. The Hoyas were members of the West Division of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 19–15, 6–10 in Big East play. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2003 Big East men's basketball tournament before losing to Syracuse. After declining to participate in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) the previous season, they accepted an invitation to play in the 2003 NIT after failing to receive an NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament bid. Making Georgetown's fourth NIT appearance in six years, they became the second Georgetown men's basketball team in history to reach the NIT final and the first to do since the 1992-93 season, losing it to Big East rival St. John's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001–02 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2001–02 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2001–02 NCAA Division I college basketball season. The Hoyas were coached by Craig Esherick and played most of their home games at the MCI Center in Washington, DC, although they played some home games early in the season at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus. The Hoyas were members of the West Division of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 19–11, 9–7 in Big East play. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2002 Big East men's basketball tournament before losing to Miami in overtime. Missing an at-large bid to the 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Georgetown instead received an invitation to play in the 2002 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), but declined it and had no postseason play, the first Georgetown men's basketball team since the 1973-74 season to appear in neither the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000–01 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2000–01 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2000–01 NCAA Division I college basketball season. The Hoyas were coached by Craig Esherick and played most of their home games at the MCI Center in Washington, DC, although they played some home games early in the season at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus. The Hoyas were members of the West Division of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 25–8, 10–6 in Big East play. Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the 2001 Big East men's basketball tournament, but they lost to Seton Hall in the quarterfinals. The first Georgetown men's basketball team to appear in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament since the 1996-97 season and the last one to do so until the 2005-06 season, they reached the West Region semifinals of the 2001 NCAA tournament before losing to Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999–2000 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1999–2000 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1999–2000 NCAA Division I college basketball season. The Hoyas were coached by Craig Esherick in his first full season as head coach; he had replaced John Thompson in mid-season the previous year after Thompson's resignation. The Hoyas played most of their home games at the MCI Center in Washington, DC, although they played two home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season 19-15, 6-10 in Big East play. They advanced to the semifinals of the 2000 Big East men's basketball tournament before losing to Connecticut. Not invited to the NCAA tournament, they appeared in the 2000 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) – their third consecutive NIT appearance – and advanced to the second round before losing to California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998–99 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1998–99 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1998–99 NCAA Division I college basketball season. They were coached by John Thompson, in his 27th season as head coach until January 8, 1999, when he resigned and Craig Esherick succeeded him. The Hoyas played most of their home games at the MCI Center in Washington, DC, although they played one home game at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season 15–16, 6–12 in Big East play. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the 1999 Big East men's basketball tournament before losing to Miami. Not invited to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for the second year in a row, they instead appeared in the 1999 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) – their second consecutive appearance in the NIT – and lost to Princeton in the first round. Georgetown finished with its first losing record since the 1972–73 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995–96 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1995–96 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1995–96 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 24th season as head coach. They played their home games at USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East 7 Division of the Big East Conference, were the regular-season champions of the Big East 7 Division, and finished the season with a record of 29–8, 13–5 in Big East play. Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the 1996 Big East men's basketball tournament, and they advanced to the tournament final before losing to Connecticut. They were awarded a No. 2 seed in the East Regional of the 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – Georgetown's 17th NCAA Tournament appearance in 18 years – and advanced to the East Regional Final before losing to No. 1 seed Massachusetts. They were ranked No. 4 in the season's final Associated Press Poll and No. 7 in the postseason Coaches' Poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994–95 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1994–95 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1994–95 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 23rd season as head coach. They played their home games at USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season with a record of 21-10, 11-7 in Big East play. Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the 1995 Big East men's basketball tournament, and they advanced to the tournament semifinal before losing to Connecticut. They were awarded a No. 6 seed in the Southeast Region of the 1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – Georgetown's 16th NCAA Tournament appearance in 17 years – and advanced to the Southeast Region Semifinals before losing to region's No. 2 seed, North Carolina. They were ranked No. 22 in the season's final Associated Press Poll and No 16 in the postseason Coaches' Poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993–94 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1993–94 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1993–94 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 22nd season as head coach. They played their home games at USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season with a record of 19-12, 10-8 in Big East play. Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the 1994 Big East men's basketball tournament, and they advanced to the tournament final before losing to Providence. They were awarded a No. 9 seed in the Midwest Region of the 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – Georgetown's 15th NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 years – and advanced to the second round before losing to the region's No. 1 seed, Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991–92 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1991–92 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1991–92 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 20th season as head coach. They played their home games at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season with a record of 22–10, 12–6 in Big East play, sharing the regular-season conference championship with Seton Hall and St. John's. Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the 1992 Big East men's basketball tournament, and they advanced to the final before losing to Syracuse. They were the No. 6 seed in the West Region of the 1992 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – the last of 14 consecutive Georgetown NCAA tournament appearances – and advanced to the second round before losing to West Region No. 3 seed Florida State. They were ranked No. 22 in the season's final Associated Press Poll and No. 18 in the final Coaches' Poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988–89 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1988–89 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1988–89 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 17th season as head coach. They played their home games at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season with a record of 29–5, 13–3 in Big East play. They finished as the Big East regular season champions and won the 1989 Big East men's basketball tournament, the sixth Big East tournament championship in Georgetown men's basketball history, defeating Syracuse in the final game. They were the No. 1 seed in the East Region of the 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – the 11th of 14 consecutive Georgetown NCAA tournament appearances – and advanced to the East Region final before losing to the region's No. 2 seed, Duke. They were ranked No. 2 in the season's final Associated Press Poll and Coaches' Poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982–83 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1982–83 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1982–83 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 11th season as head coach. They played their home games at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season with a record of 22-10 overall, 11-5 in Big East play. They lost to Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the 1983 Big East tournament and advanced to the second round of the 1983 NCAA tournament before losing to Memphis State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977–78 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1977–78 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his sixth season as head coach. An independent, Georgetown played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C., and finished the season with a record of 23-8. Knocked out of the ECAC South-Upstate Region tournament in the semifinals, the team missed an NCAA tournament bid for the second consecutive season. The Hoyas instead appeared in the 1978 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), their second straight NIT appearance, and finished in fourth place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016–17 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2016–17 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hoyas, led by 13th-year head coach John Thompson III, played their home games at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., and were members of the Big East Conference.

References

  1. ↑ "Georgetown vs. Villanova - Game Recap - March 5, 2016 - ESPN".
  2. ↑ "Commentary | Hoyas' High Expectations Flounder". 18 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Georgetown fires Thompson after 13 seasons". 23 March 2017.
  4. ↑ "Thompson, John III". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  5. ↑ "Trio of sports industry innovators to lead Monumental Basketball". NBA.com. Retrieved 15 August 2019.

Additional sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.