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Princeton University Athletics
John Thompson Named Men's Basketball Coach
September 06, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Sept. 6, 2000
John Thompson, whose father and college coach are both in the Hall of Fame, will be introduced as Princeton's head men's basketball coach Thursday.
Thompson, a 1988 Princeton graduate, will replace Bill Carmody, who left to become the head coach at Northwestern.
In his five years as an assistant under Pete Carril and Carmody, Thompson has helped Princeton to a record of 114-31, a Top 10 national ranking, three Ivy League championships, five consecutive postseason appearances and one of the most memorable wins in NCAA tournament history with Princeton's 43-41 victory over UCLA in 1996.
Princeton has averaged 23 wins per year during his tenure as an assistant, Princeton had a total of three seasons with at least 23 wins in the 95 years of the program prior to that.
The Tigers are 37-19 against schools that offer athletic scholarships (which Princeton does not) in Thompson's five years. Included in that record are wins over Florida State, Texas and UNC Charlotte on consecutive nights to win the 1998 Rainbow Classic in Hawaii and wins over Georgetown and North Carolina State en route to the 1999 NIT quarterfinals. Since returning to his alma mater as an assistant coach, Thompson has helped recruit and coach two All-Americas, three Ivy League Players of the Year, one Ivy League Rookie of the Year and nine first-team All-Ivy League players.
Thompson proved to be a perfect match for the Tiger offense during his days as an undergraduate. A forward in his playing days, he still ranks third all-time in assists at Princeton with 358, behind point guard Bill Ryan '84 and center Kit Mueller '91.
Princeton's record improved every year Thompson was at the school, and the Tigers went 17-9 his senior year. Thompson and Dave Orlandini '88 served as co-captains of that team, and they shared the B.F. Bunn Trophy as team MVP after the 1987-88 season.
A product of Washington, D.C.'s Gonzaga College High School, Thompson was a first-team all-met selection as a senior. Thompson's brother Ronny, a graduate of Georgetown, is an assistant coach for the Hoyas.
Thompson, 34, and his wife, Monica, are the parents of a daughter, Morgan, who was born just after the 1998 NCAA tournament.
Mrs. Thompson is a member of Princeton's Class of 1989.
Thompson's father, longtime Georgetown head coach John Thompson, was inducted into the Hall of Fame this past year. Carril, for whom he played at Princeton, was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1997.
Thompson has served as the Princeton junior varsity coach for the past four years.