Thompson Also Surprised His Son

Like many people, John Thompson III was surprised by his dad’s resignation as Georgetown’s coach.

The younger Thompson, an assistant coach at Princeton, said Saturday that he could see the move coming, but not so soon.

“Like everyone else, I was surprised,” Thompson said before the Tigers’ 66-33 victory over Yale at Princeton, N.J. “It’s one of those things where you have a feeling it’s going to happen. But I was still surprised it happened when it did. The timing was surprising more so than the action.”

Thompson resigned after 27 seasons at Georgetown, citing personal reasons. He filed for divorce from his wife, Gwen, in 1997 and the two are still in settlement negotiations.

Thompson told his son of his decision Wednesday morning. Like many other people close to Thompson, his son tried to persuade him to stay with Georgetown at least until the end of the season.

“He can be a little stubborn sometimes, and decided this would be the best thing to do and decided to do it,” Thompson said.

As for his father’s future, Thompson said: “He’s not sick of basketball. I think in the future you might see him back coaching again.”

In the Arkansas-Mississippi game at Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday, both coaches were black--something made possible by Thompson, Razorback Coach Nolan Richardson said.

“John took a job that nobody wanted,” Richardson said. “But that was the only job that blacks or minorities could get. I remember when I was a young coach hoping that John could make it so it would open some doors. He did. There were other black coaches but they never got to the status that he did.”

Said Mississippi Coach Rob Barnes: “He has done so much for minorities in college basketball as far as standing out and carrying himself in a class manner.”