Princeton Hires John Thompson III as Coach

P R I N C E T O N, N.J., Sept. 6, 2000 -- 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.

Carmody Moves On

Joe Scott, who was Carmody’s top assistant, left after lastseason to coach Air Force, moving Thompson up the ladder.

Carmody, who had a 92-25 record in his four years as coach atPrinceton, was to be introduced today as Northwestern’sbasketball coach. He was a Princeton assistant under Carril for 14years.

Carmody replaces Kevin O’Neill, who resigned five days ago tobecome an assistant with the New York Knicks.

Tough Act to Follow

Matching the success of his father will be tough for Thompson.

The elder Thompson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Famelast year and had 596-239 record before stepping down asGeorgetown’s coach on Jan. 8, 1999. The midseason move was madebecause the elder Thompson was going through a divorce and he felthe could not devote as much time as he wanted to basketball.

At Georgetown, Thompson guided the Hoyas to 20 NCAA tournaments,including 14 straight, earned three Final Four berths and won onechampionship, 1984. The 1988 U.S. Olympic coach, his teams had 97percent graduation rate and 26 players were taken in the NBA draft.