Thompson Shows The Way On, Off Court

A few months ago, in the kitchen near his office at Georgetown University, John Thompson was watching a hot debate among three extremely large, famous NBA players all of whom went to his college for the entire four years.

Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning disagreed strongly with Dikembe Mutombo about the labor negotiations then in progress between the NBA and its players. A strike, perhaps as bad as the one that crippled baseball, seemed possible. Ewing and Mourning were hardliners; Mutombo was more conciliatory. All three were among the most visible and vocal players in that national argument.

“It was a serious and strained discussion going on with two of them definitely on the opposite side from Dikembe,” recalls Thompson. “Some of the (legal and financial) issues were so complicated, they had to explain them to me. The education process had reversed.

“I went home almost with tears in my eyes. I was so proud of the level of the discussion.”

At one point, the three players were discussing the requirements for a new head of the union. All agreed that a law degree was essential.

“I got a kick out of the irony of that,” says Thompson. “Here’s a league with kids jumping to play in it without finishing their college degrees. But when it’s time to hire somebody to represent them, the first requirement is an advanced college degree. I said, ‘You don’t really care about that law degree, do you? You just need somebody with a big salary (like an NBA star), right?’

“They laughed. They got it.”

Isn’t it nice that we still have an opinionated, autocratic control freak like Thompson in the game? He’s powerful, secretive and envied. He’s also the embodiment of what we mean by an adult who exercises “tough love.”

On Monday, Thompson said that Allen Iverson would not leave Georgetown for the NBA after his sophomore year “unless I tell him to go.” It was typical Thompson bravado; he made his point - nationwide - and also cut off a distracting discussion on the eve of the Big East tournament. On Tuesday, however, in a quieter mood during a telephone call, Thompson rounded out the story.

“Allen Iverson doesn’t have to listen to me. He can do anything he wants. That’s obvious. But that’s also not the point,” he said. “As adults, we shouldn’t hold back. We shouldn’t be intimidated by the youngsters we’re supposed to be helping. ..

“It’s one thing to be ignored. It’s another not to give your opinion. (Players) may not like what I say. And they may not do what I say. But they are sure going to hear what I have to say. That’s my responsibility.”

Young people respond to two things: our concern and our discipline. They deserve both and, instinctively, expect both. These days, plenty of college athletes don’t get enough of the latter.

Thompson’s strongest quality may be the relish with which he uses the influence he has over his players. He wants to make it tough for them to make childish, short-sighted decisions. Iverson may someday be in Thompson’s kitchen, speaking as an adult equal, teaching the coach a thing or two about the real world.

What’s surprising is that Thompson is actually the person holding the door to the NBA ajar for Iverson, even as he advises him against going. It would be easy for Thompson to say, “Our players, like Duke’s players, don’t do that.” Thompson could even underline that Georgetown took extra heat in accepting Iverson, who had spent three months in prison, but later was cleared of all charges.

Instead, Thompson is the one who says: “There are two boxes and I don’t want to put Allen in either one. I don’t want him to feel, ‘I’m stupid if I don’t go pro.’ There are definitely people telling him that.”

Thompson also doesn’t want Iverson to feel he’s imprisoned by Georgetown’s tradition of having its stars stay four years. “I’m not critical of people who take the money,” Thompson says. “Everybody wants nice things for themselves and their families. But it’s not the amount of money going in that matters. It’s the amount they come out with that counts.

“A dumb man loses his money fast. I look in Forbes at that list of the richest people in America. I don’t see many athletes.”

Many famous NBA players, especially in recent years, have left college early and, from all appearances, have flourished. Others have not. Every one who had no interest in education - or went to a college that had no genuine interest in challenging them as students - was right to grab the money. And every one who had a love of learning - or who attended a school that was committed to their development - made a mistake by coming out.

“The kids who go in the first five NBA picks are the ones who need (more) college the most,” Thompson said. “Because they always get picked by the worst teams. You better be psychologically, emotionally, educationally and socially prepared to deal with that, because you are going to the most disorganized teams and the most unhappy players.”

John Thompson gets on some people’s nerves, occasionally for good reason. But this time he’s right. It’s extremely unlikely that going pro after two years at Georgetown, or even three, is the right decision for Iverson.

The NBA wants Iverson because he has something the NBA needs. Georgetown, on the other hand, has something Iverson may still need. Most young people do.

Like any college, Georgetown offers time and space in which to grow up, and difficult ideas to chew on while you do it. It offers teachers, such as Thompson, who give a deep and difficult kind of respect: They tell their students what they truly believe is right and wrong, better and worse. Whether the student likes it or acts on it.