Anyone who has seen John Thompson knows he is big, but now the legendary former coach has regained the spotlight in a number of ways. His son, John Thompson III, led a revival of Georgetown basketball. Reaching the recent NCAA Tournament with the Hoyas, just like Dad did so many times. Not long ago another son, Ronny, was named coach at Ball State University. Meanwhile, the patriarch continues to make his mark, as an analyst for TNT Sports and as a radio talk-show host in Washington, D.C. Shortly after signing off from a recent show, John Thompson kept his opinions coming on a number of topics, including image adjustments, familial pride and why a good regular season doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to the NBA playoffs.
Anthony Cotton: How was the show?
John Thompson: It was good. It’s always good, and if it’s not, I lie about it.
AC: Do people who think they know you get a kick out of the idea of you being a member of the media?
JT: I think I’m past that stage, but in the beginning the reaction was amazing to me, because I think people tend to define you out of sound bites and they don’t really get to know you. When you’re on television or the radio, you reveal more of yourself than they thought they knew. Then they become alarmed by it. They didn’t know you laughed, they didn’t know you joked. “I didn’t know you were that way!” was what I got a lot of in the beginning.
But I always say, “You didn’t know me; you don’t judge a surgeon only by what he does in the operating room. You never get to see him when he’s at home.” It’s the same with coaches. You take on a certain disposition to do the job that you have to do.
AC: Is there almost some sort of revisionist history going on in terms of you and Georgetown and the image people had of you?
JT: It is what it is, based on you presenting yourself according to the situations that you’re in and how you feel about them. But I never said or did anything just to upset anybody, or to change their opinions. I’m sure there is some revising going on, but that’s for other people. I don’t spend much time evaluating me.
AC: How proud are you of what your sons are doing?
JT: Extremely proud as a parent. I knew both of them knew basketball, I knew both of them would work as hard as necessary to be successful. But as a parent, I’m pleased that they’re able to get involved in something they want to do and like to do. Everybody doesn’t have those opportunities.
AC: Is there any gratification that it was John who brought Georgetown back to national prominence?
JT: I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it that way. It’s more the fact that it’s John, my son, having a good year. I’ve always loved and respected the school. I’ve been loyal to it when it wasn’t as successful as some people thought it should be or wanted it to be. But I’m happy that he’s having success. That it is at Georgetown does make it doubly delicious.
AC: Even though it is Georgetown, the way he does things, say, using the Princeton offense, is different from how you did things.
JT: I’m amused at that. Everyone who runs the Princeton offense doesn’t have success. John is an individual, but more importantly, he’s able to convey what it is that he knows and gets the young people that he has to do it. It shows that he’s a good teacher. He tutored under a guy (former Princeton coach Pete Carril) to whom I paid a lot of money to educate my son. I certainly hope that he did learn something. If he didn’t, I’d want a refund.
AC: And when Ronny said he was considering the Ball State job, what do you say?
JT: I’m happy. I think Ronny is probably more of a workaholic than all of us. He’s fanatical about it, and I think he wanted an opportunity. He was probably a little anxious, seeing his brother coaching a team that his father coached. I think Ronny is a person who’ll be successful. He doesn’t have any players now, and it will take a little time to build it back up, but I have all the confidence in the world that he will.
AC: You know that there will come a time when the NCAA committee matches them up against Georgetown. What do you do then?
JT: That’ll be interesting. I hope it comes to that. Ronny’s a long way from the NCAAs. He only has seven players on his team right now. But if it happens I’ll enjoy it, and I think they will, but I don’t know if I’ll be picking any sides.
AC: Having been exposed to the NBA so much recently, what are your feelings on the college game vs. the pro game?
JT: Last Saturday I was with the Dallas Mavericks, and I was amazed at how young the players looked. I’m accustomed to seeing older guys, guys who’ve been around for many, many years and look like older men. The guys now are so young you could mistake them for a college team. Both games are exciting, but I think these (playoff) games will be the defining moment for a lot of the players now in the NBA, people like LeBron James playing in the playoffs for the first time. There are guys like Gilbert Arenas and Carmelo Anthony; their reputations will be made by what they do in the playoffs.
I think some of the early series will be like NCAA Tournament games, very exciting, but in the end, it will come down to the Pistons, Spurs and Heat. If anybody beats one of those three, I’d be surprised.
AC: You didn’t mention the Suns or the Mavericks.
JT: I’m very well aware of who I didn’t mention.
AC: That doesn’t leave much hope for the local franchise in Colorado.
JT: I think they had a good run. They deserve a lot of credit, but by the same token, those three teams are above everyone else. It doesn’t mean I don’t think that Denver’s not good; they are.
AC: The Nuggets didn’t end the regular season on a high note, and there’s been a lot of talk about chemistry. Is that really important or overrated?
JT: Chemistry is extremely important. Sometimes the playoffs cause teams to find chemistry, or it can be destroyed in the playoffs as well. Guys sometimes band together because they recognize the significance of the prize; they put personal feelings aside. But sometimes they go their individual ways.
That’s what’s so great about the playoffs. They define teams as well as individual players. You expect the Mavericks or the Suns or the Nuggets to have good regular seasons, but the real definition of what those teams are will come from what they do in the playoffs.
Denver is getting to that point, but they’re not there yet. Anything they get from this point on is just gravy.
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
