How did Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson die?

LEGENDARY college basketball coach John Thompson has passed away at age 78. Here is more on the longtime Georgetown leader whose cause of death is not known. Who was John Thompson? Thompson was the first African American coach to win an NCAA title. He was born in 1941 and was raised in Washington, DC. The […]

LEGENDARY college basketball coach John Thompson has passed away at age 78.

Here is more on the longtime Georgetown leader whose cause of death is not known.

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Legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson has passed away[/caption]

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Thompson watches a Georgetown game in 2019[/caption]

Who was John Thompson?

Thompson was the first African American coach to win an NCAA title.

He was born in 1941 and was raised in Washington, DC.

The Hall of Famer played basketball for Providence College before playing for several years in the NBA with the Boston Celtics.

He won several titles with the Celtics before retiring.

Thompson was hired to coach Georgetown’s basketball team in 1972, and he accumulated nearly 600 wins during his three-decade career.

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Thompson on the sidelines for Georgetown[/caption]

“When I was hired,” Thompson told Sports Illustrated in 1980, according to ESPN, “I had a talk with the president [then the Rev. Robert Henle, S.J.].

“All that Father Henle said about basketball was that he hoped I could take a team to the NIT every now and then. I thought to myself that I’d eat my hat if I couldn’t do better than that. But I didn’t say anything except,  ‘Yes, sir, I’ll try,’ because you don’t want to set yourself up.”

The Hoyas won the national championship in 1984 under Thompson’s guidance.

He served as a TV commentator in his later years.

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A detailed close-up of a photo former coach John Thompson that is on the front of the Georgetown Hoyas warm-up jerseys as seen before the game against the Butler Bulldogs on February 15, 2020 [/caption]

What did Patrick Ewing say about Thompson?

Ewing, the former Georgetown and New York Knicks star center, spoke out about his mentor.

“This is a person that, when I came to college – I was 18 – helped me to grow,” Ewing, who currently coaches Georgetown, recalled, according to ESPN.

“Even though my mom and dad were always there, he was always a person I could pick up the phone and call if I had a problem or if I had a question.”

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Thompson in January of 2020[/caption]

Ewing played in three NCAA title games at Georgetown with Thompson as coach.

Who called Thompson the ‘real-life Black Panther’?

Former ABC7 sports anchor Lou Holder said Thompson was a pioneer who influenced many lives.

“He was larger than life for black people, for mankind, for social justice,” he told WJLA.

What was the cause of Thompson’s death?

The cause of Thompson’s death has not been revealed.