Thompson out of dad’s shadow

PHILADELPHIA – When John Thompson III was named head coach at Georgetown University two years ago, critics cried it was nepotism run amok.

His father, the Hall of Famer who won one national title at Georgetown and coached in two more championship games, was not so brazen to tap his kid for the job, like the monarchies that Eddie Sutton and Bobby Knight apparently have created at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, but still observers wondered whether dear old dad had suggested his son so he could pull the puppet strings from the sidelines.

No one says that anymore.

John Thompson III has done something many wondered if anyone could do. He has gently placed the legend of John Thompson Jr. where it belongs – on a revered and respected perch, but a revered and respected perch in the history books.

This is not John Thompson’s team or his program anymore. It is his son’s team.

John Thompson III is no longer “John Thompson III, son of the legendary Georgetown coach and Hall of Fame member.”

He is his own man.

Students greet their coach with chants of “JT3” and wear T-shirts with “III” on the backs, and the echo chamber that once was the MCI Center is alive with “Hoya Saxa” which loosely translates to “What Rocks.” The Hoyas are 17th in the country, 17-6 overall, 8-4 in the cruelly difficult Big East and the lone possessor of Duke’s scalp. A year after just missing an NCAA Tournament bid, it is hard to envision a scenario that doesn’t get Georgetown into the mix, and Thompson III has orchestrated it all in less than two years.

“It’s amazing to me that he’s been able to get them to the point where they are so quickly,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “I think it’s the best coaching job in our conference.”

On its own, Thompson’s coaching indeed would be impressive. That he has achieved so much against the backdrop of his wife’s November diagnosis with breast cancer makes it extraordinary. Even his basketball-centric father urged him to take a leave of absence, but, together, John and Monica decided against it.

Thompson III played four seasons at Princeton under Pete Carril – himself a Hall of Famer – and was an assistant and head coach with the Tigers before coming to Georgetown.

Thompson has never chafed at being his father’s son, joking that it’s been that way for 39 years, so he’s had time to get used to it.

“It’s never been an issue with me,” Thompson said. “I have a pretty good feel for how I want to do things. Let everyone else make the comparisons. I have no point of reference.”