Tweet from Jon Rothstein, that the legendary coach has passed away. I stayed in the same hotel as him during the 2018 final four, and saw his son taking him to the airport afterwords. He was very frail then. RIP if true.
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Look up John Thompson Rayful Edmond. Unbelievable stuff.He certainly will be missed by the basketball community. A legend for many reasons.
Legend.
My uncle was the one who hired Big John as he was the AD at G-town for many years. Had the pleasure of attending every BE tourney at the garden in the 1980's as well as the final four in 1985. I worked at G-town for a couple years after graduating RU and the track office was down the hall from the hoops offices, although ours was much smaller.... He was always a nice guy in person and always took a few minutes of his time to see how you were doing if he saw you in the hallway. Many did not like his style but he was a damn good coach and motivator. I loved watching his team play with such passion and take no prisoners attitude. Those BE tourneys in the mid 80s was some of the best college basketball we shall ever see.
Legend.
My uncle was the one who hired Big John as he was the AD at G-town for many years. Had the pleasure of attending every BE tourney at the garden in the 1980's as well as the final four in 1985. I worked at G-town for a couple years after graduating RU and the track office was down the hall from the hoops offices, although ours was much smaller.... He was always a nice guy in person and always took a few minutes of his time to see how you were doing if he saw you in the hallway. Many did not like his style but he was a damn good coach and motivator. I loved watching his team play with such passion and take no prisoners attitude. Those BE tourneys in the mid 80s was some of the best college basketball we shall ever see.
keep your panties unbunched. But question for the old timers. Wasnt he pretty publicly racist against white people? As in he refused to recruit white kids?
I’m a huge JT fan. Loved watching his teams play in the BE. Miss those days.Look up John Thompson Rayful Edmond. Unbelievable stuff.
Kyk - I separate politics from sports so his political views never enter into my calculus when thinking about his coaching skills. He had some great teams and was a great coach. I did not agree with his politics but folks use to be able to agree to disagree.keep your panties unbunched. But question for the old timers. Wasnt he pretty publicly racist against white people? As in he refused to recruit white kids?
How many white parents were lining up to send their kids to Georgetown to play for John Thompson? Especially if they believed the media narrative that he was this big, menacing racist black man? Perhaps he decided not to waste his time recruiting people who actually believed that.keep your panties unbunched. But question for the old timers. Wasnt he pretty publicly racist against white people? As in he refused to recruit white kids?
I found a good story about Thompson published in the Washington Post right after he won the national championship. A former assistant coach of his confirms exactly what you wrote. In any case, it was a good profile that provides insight into his thought process. Many of the things that he says are still relevant in today's climate. The part about recruiting is toward the end of the story. https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...hompson/539024eb-a8a6-4f69-b4c2-d897c04bc2bc/How many white parents were lining up to send their kids to Georgetown to play for John Thompson? Especially if they believed the media narrative that he was this big, menacing racist black man? Perhaps he decided not to waste his time recruiting people who actually believed that.
Nope.keep your panties unbunched. But question for the old timers. Wasnt he pretty publicly racist against white people? As in he refused to recruit white kids?
Great article. Thompson was misunderstood by people who lack understanding.I found a good story about Thompson published in the Washington Post right after he won the national championship. A former assistant coach of his confirms exactly what you wrote. In any case, it was a good profile that provides insight into his thought process. Many of the things that he says are still relevant in today's climate. The part about recruiting is toward the end of the story. https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...hompson/539024eb-a8a6-4f69-b4c2-d897c04bc2bc/
I remember the game well. Wenzel was coach. Billet was there and we had guys like the immortal Terry Mills and Johnny Blake. I know he was dismissive, but I still enjoyed the hell out of that win.i forget which year it was but in the latter half of the 90's, we had beaten Georgetown when they were ranked maybe just into the top 25. Our team wasnt amazing record wise and beating a historic known team who was ranked none the less was a big thing forus (being newer to the conference) and everyone was excited...we were all psyched for the big win and celebrating in the locker room/tunnel. I kind of remember fans storming the court too?
I remember in JT's press conf afterwards though he basically had the "act like you're supposed to be there" mentality and was criticizing the fans and saying how its not like RU beat a #1 team (and how beating his team was not worthy of a court storm haha)..
That thought process always stuck with me over the years.
Was never a fan of his but he was absolutely correct. I was at that game and was thrilled that we won, but the court storming made us look minor league.i forget which year it was but in the latter half of the 90's, we had beaten Georgetown when they were ranked maybe just into the top 25. Our team wasnt amazing record wise and beating a historic known team who was ranked none the less was a big thing forus (being newer to the conference) and everyone was excited...we were all psyched for the big win and celebrating in the locker room/tunnel. I kind of remember fans storming the court too?
I remember in JT's press conf afterwards though he basically had the "act like you're supposed to be there" mentality and was criticizing the fans and saying how its not like RU beat a #1 team (and how beating his team was not worthy of a court storm haha)..
That thought process always stuck with me over the years.
Fake news. He had white kids play for him. Besides what’s the difference? how many schools refused to recruit black kids for so long?keep your panties unbunched. But question for the old timers. Wasnt he pretty publicly racist against white people? As in he refused to recruit white kids?
PPOD Award - Pathetic Post Of the Day. You need help.💩keep your panties unbunched. But question for the old timers. Wasnt he pretty publicly racist against white people? As in he refused to recruit white kids?
The grim reaper certainly has not been kind of late. 2nd coaching legend in the last few days following Lute Olson.
Some of these guys that post here are really something else as I'm sure you are starting to bear witness to unfortunately.Nope.
He recruited white kids but not many white kids, or maybe it was their parents, wanted to play for a black Coach when Big John was coaching.
Or maybe they got paid to go to another school. 🤷🏾♂️
Thompson had teams with 2-3 white kids on them. His national championship team did not have any white players.
But here is the irony:
If a white coach has an all-black team, he's a humanitarian. He's helping kids. He's a f@cking hero.
If a black coach has an all-black team, some people are going to ask if he was racist?
And use a false example to back up their question by asking something like: As in he refused to recruit white kids?
I actually have him on ignore. That's a great feature btw and I highly recommend people use that instead of letting posters upset them. I'm sure some people have me on ignore and that's cool too. 😀Some of these guys that post here are really something else as I'm sure you are starting to bear witness to unfortunately.
Look up John Thompson Rayful Edmond. Unbelievable stuff.