In a formal press conference dripping with auspicious tradition, Georgetown named John Thompson III, son of legendary men’s basketball coach John Thompson Jr., the new men’s basketball head coach.
The announcement comes five weeks after the firing of former head coach Craig Esherick, who had led the team for the past five and a half seasons. Thompson will take over the program after its worst season since 1972-73, finishing, 12th of 14 teams in the Big East Conference, and failed to qualify for postseason play.
Thompson, who left his head coaching post at Princeton to lead the Hoyas, will inevitably draw comparisons to his Hall of Fame father.
“I am John Thompson’s son,” Thompson said. “I have been John Thompson’s son for 38 years. I’m pretty comfortable being John Thompson’s son, and the pressures that come along with that … no one is going to put more pressure on me than myself.”
Thompson has a firm grasp of Georgetown’s rich basketball tradition, rooted in his childhood during his father’s coaching days. He was an All D.C. Metropolitan Area selection from Gonzaga High School in 1984.
In the press conference, Thompson fondly recalled his memories of those times. “I grew up here, on this campus, in McDonough Gym. It’s a part of who I am,” he said, “We are Georgetown. A few people have forgotten we are Georgetown and we’re going to work our tails off to remind them.”
John Thompson Jr. was head coach at Georgetown for nearly 30 years and led the team to three Final Fours between 1982-1985 and one national title, in 1984.
Tuesday’s announcement came after a nearly two-week period when the job was said to be Thompson’s for the taking. The Washington Post reported that Georgetown offered him the job on April 8. The school’s search committee, a two-person team composed of Jim Higgins, a former basketball captain and member of Georgetown’s board of directors, and Frank Rienzo, the most recent former athletic director, led the search.
University president John J. DeGioia said that Thompson’s hiring came after a national search that included a number of candidates. In typical discrete fashion, the athletic department refused to reveal any of their candidates, although Duke Assistant Coach Johnny Dawkins and Pennsylvania Head Coach Fran Dunphy. Other possibilities included Manhattan Head Coach Bobby Gonzalez and even Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Few were reportedly candidates.
Senior Courtland Freeman and recent graduate Kevin Braswell joined a number of other former players in signing an online petition at www.hoyas4hoyas.com supporting Esherick assistant and former Georgetown star Jaren Jackson’s bid to fill the coaching vacancy. Jackson had voiced his desire to be the next head coach, but had indicated he hoped to stay on as an assistant regardless of who was hired.
DeGioia had said that hiring a coach with head coaching experience was a major priority, as was retaining someone who had a grasp of Georgetown’s tradition and the academic rigor. Thompson fit all of these categories, with four years of head coaching experience at Princeton, his alma mater, where he was a starting basketball player and then assistant and head coach.
He finished with a 68-42 record, although a majority of those losses came against non-conference opponents as his Tigers played one of the most competitive non-conference schedules in the country. His teams won two Ivy League titles and made two NCAA appearances, while finishing in a three-way tie for the Ivy League title in 2002-03.
“He’s learned from the best and created his own distinctive style that inspires great performance and loyalty from the men he coaches,” DeGioia said.
