5 inspiring quotes from legendary basketball coach John Thompson display how he modeled leadership

Allana AkhtarSep 1, 2020, 02:51 IST

Legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. died on August 31, 2020 at 78 years old.Georgetown University/Collegiate Images via Getty Images

Legendary basketball coach John Thompson Jr. died Monday, at 78 years old, his family announced in a statement.
Thompson, the first Black coach to win an NCAA championship, mentored numerous NBA greats including Allen Iverson and Patrick Ewing, who stepped into Thompson's shoes as Georgetown coach three years ago.
Thompson, the first Black coach to win an NCAA championship, joined Georgetown University's team in 1972, when it had just come off a season with a win total of only three games. Within 10 years, Thompson turned the program into a powerhouse.
The coach was passionate about advocating for underprivileged children and racial equality. He once boycotted two games to protest a rule that would deny financial aid to students with low SAT scores.
Throughout his tenure, Thompson talked about how he succeeded and his leadership style, while advocating for players and students. Business Insider rounded up five quotes that best show how he modeled leadership for so many years.

Thompson likened his basketball coaching style to directing a play: "I'm going to pick the script, and I'm going to give them their roles. They're the actors. Their job is to learn those roles — that's what practice is about. When we go out on the court, that's our stage. Out there, they're supposed to perform as we practiced. I don't want anybody making up new lines, putting on their own act."

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Thompson likened his basketball coaching style to directing a play: "I'm going to pick the script, and I'm going to give them their roles. They're the actors. Their job is to learn those roles — that's what practice is about. When we go out on the court, that's our stage. Out there, they're supposed to perform as we practiced. I don't want anybody making up new lines, putting on their own act."

John Thompson once met with a drug dealer who had befriended several of his players, and told him to stop coming to meet them. "We cannot close ourselves off from the whole of society," he said of the meeting. "Anybody who experienced the Len Bias situation knows we cannot isolate [ourselves], seal ourselves off from people. We'd better start confronting these problems."

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John Thompson once met with a drug dealer who had befriended several of his players, and told him to stop coming to meet them. "We cannot close ourselves off from the whole of society," he said of the meeting. "Anybody who experienced the Len Bias situation knows we cannot isolate [ourselves], seal ourselves off from people. We'd better start confronting these problems."

"What I hope to do is to bring attention to the fact that [Proposal 42] is very much discriminatory," Thompson said in protest of a rule that denied financial aid to students with low SAT scores. "I'm beginning to feel like the kid from the lower socio-economic background who has been invited to dinner, had dessert, and now is being asked to leave."

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"What I hope to do is to bring attention to the fact that [Proposal 42] is very much discriminatory," Thompson said in protest of a rule that denied financial aid to students with low SAT scores. "I'm beginning to feel like the kid from the lower socio-economic background who has been invited to dinner, had dessert, and now is being asked to leave."

John Thompson: "I am not trying to be anything other than what I am, and I'm really not certain what that is."

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"Don't let the sum total of your existence be eight to 10 pounds of air."

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5 inspiring quotes from legendary basketball coach John Thompson display how he modeled leadership

John Thompson: "I am not trying to be anything other than what I am, and I'm really not certain what that is."

"Don't let the sum total of your existence be eight to 10 pounds of air."