Princeton Hires John Thompson III as Coach
P R I N C E T O N, N.J., Sept. 6 -- John Thompson III was hired as coach ofPrinceton today, following the career path of his father,who built Georgetown into a basketball power.
The appointment came on the same day Bill Carmody left the IvyLeague school to become coach of Northwestern of the Big Ten.
This will be the first head coaching job for the 34-year-oldThompson. He has been an assistant coach the past five years atPrinceton under Pete Carril and Carmody.
“He’s got a challenge,” John Thompson said today duringthe The John Thompson Show, his WTEM sports radio talk programin Washington. “I’m proud as a father.”
Princeton scheduled a news conference for Thursday to introducethe younger Thompson.
Thompson has three starters returning from a team that went19-11 record last season, losing in the first round of the NIT toPenn State.
However, the Tigers sustained a major loss a little more than aweek ago when unanimous All-Ivy League center Chris Young signed abaseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Unlike the NCAA, the Ivy League does not allow athletes who signa professional contract in one sport to play in another.
History With Princeton
Thompson, a former Princeton player, graduated in 1988. Aforward, Thompson was co-captain in his senior year and shared theteam most valuable player award as the Tigers went 17-9.
The older Thompson was at his son’s home at Princeton during hisbroadcast. He laughed about all the telephone calls he receivedfrom his son, complaining about how much he hated things during hisfirst two years at the school.
However, that all changed in his final two years, Thompson said,and no one could say anything bad about Princeton in front of hisson.
The younger Thompson fell in love with Princeton, married awoman from Princeton and bought a house next to the university, thefather said.
Getting the head coaching job also proved to be a matter ofbeing in the right place at the right time for John Thompson III,who has also served as the Princeton junior varsity coach the pastfour years.
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