He’s got an Ivy League education and coaching skills honed under the tutelage of basketball wizard Pete Carril.
But John Thompson III has the genes that perhaps best explain what the college basketball world has come to understand: The son of the legendary John Thompson, Jr. was born to coach.
Down the stretch against both Vanderbilt and North Carolina, Thompson saw fit to switch Georgetown’s defense from man-to-man to zone, moves that played crucial roles in both of the Hoyas’ come-from-behind victories.
What did Thompson pull from his vast compilation of basketball knowledge that led him to make the change?
“They’re just lucky guesses, I guess,” said Thompson. “It’s not necessarily a point in the game. Most of the coaching I do is just instincts and feel. It felt right at the time.”
The Hoyas forced the Commodores and Tar Heels to win from the perimeter. As the game progressed and their legs tired, those shots didn’t fall and Georgetown cleaned up on the boards. The Hoyas outrebounded Vanderbilt, 7-3, in the final six minutes, and North Carolina, 7-2, in the final seven minutes of regulation.
Thompson’s instincts were also true in the Big East Tournament semifinals, for example, when he orchestrated Jeff Green’s game-winning shot against Notre Dame.
“We thought they would play zone, then go to man, and we guessed right,” Thompson said after the 84-82 win over the Irish. “We spread it out, then got the ball to Jeff, and Jeff did what Jeff does.”
In their normal man-to-man defensive set, the Hoyas switch on nearly every screen, sometimes creating mismatches in their opponents’ favor. But Georgetown’s ability to adjust makes opposing coaches’ preparation that much more difficult.
“Knowing that we can switch to different defenses late in the game and still be effective is pretty big for us,” said Hoyas junior guard Jonathan Wallace. “A lot of teams aren’t able to be as confident in maybe their zone as they would in the man-to-man. We feel we can be productive in either one.”
Whether it’s a run-and-gun shootout or physical defensive battle, the players trust in Thompson and his system.
“I think we have an extremely versatile team that can play different styles, different paces,” said Thompson. “I think we have an extremely resilient group that believes in each other and believes in what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.”
It appears that belief is instinctual.
COACH SPEAK
» Prior to taking over at Georgetown, John Thompson III spent four years as head coach at Princeton, where he won three Ivy League titles.
» In his first season in D.C., he was a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award and led the Hoyas to the NIT Quarterfinals.
Career record: 125-66
Georgetown record: 57-24
