A basketball icon and a father figure through so many NBA players. John Thompson is among the most respected men in the world of basketball. In this installment of Barrier Breakers, Chris Weber looks at the career of the coach who has been so influential through so many. John Thompson, Jr. The legendary coach of men's college basketball was the first African American head coach to win an NCAA title. Thompson, who is an all-American and won an NIT Championship at Providence College, went on to win two NBA titles with the Boston Celtics. But his crowning achievement on the hard courts would come from the sideline as a coach. After the NBA, Thompson will return to his native Washington D.C. to coach St. Anthony's High School for six years. He was then hired to take on a troubled Georgetown boys team who was coming off a three in 23 season. Thompson will lead the boys to 24 consecutive postseason bids including 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances. He would also lead Georgetown to three final four appearances, including the 1984 NCAA Championship. Thompson was also the first African American men's basketball coach in the Big East Conference, as well as the first African American Big East coach of the year. Thompson would also become the first African American Division I basketball coach of the year, which he was named a total of seven times throughout his career. In 1999, Thompson was inducted into the Natesmith Memorial basketball hall of fame. John Thompson, our barrier breaker, and you see his impressive resume, one of the greats of all time. Not only in terms of what happened on the floor, but off the floor as well. And Dennis, Hoyas Saxa, in Latin, what rocks? Hoyas came calling. Did they not for you? They came calling. It's kind of like when John Thompson walks into your home, it's kind of like a school teacher, you kind of set up straight and you know, there goes John Thompson. And for me, I got a chance to know the family very well because his youngest son, Ron Thompson, was a contributor with us here at NBA TV. So we played together for two years in high school, so I had a chance to actually go to their home, hang out, be around the family, and get to understand who this barely man was and everyone was afraid of. He really was a big teddy bear because he really cared about his players, he wanted his players to go to school, get their education, just in case the jump shot didn't work. Just in case Patrick Duhin couldn't dunk on nobody. Just in case Alan Overson couldn't cross nobody up, he made sure these guys were good human beings and made sure they went to class. So when he came into my home on my recruiting visit, I didn't have to kind of set up straight. I was like, oh Coach, I know you're soft, you're not dead. Now in the realness of it, the way they played at the time didn't kind of fit my style of play. Alan Overson came in, then they started going up and down the court shooting through, he's playing that fast break style, obviously already signed with Georgia Tech. But he's still a good friend, the family's still good friends to me, just happy that we're giving him his love that he's well deserved. Recalections of Coach Thompson. You know, I was kind of upset at Coach Thompson because growing up I was a Patrick UN guy. I wanted to go to Georgetown and this was up before I met Coach Brown. I wanted to go to Georgetown so when I get to San Antonio and make the All-American team in 13 All-American, I didn't receive a letter from Georgetown, I was kind of upset by that. But when I met him, he was a soft man, he was a gentleman. He told me what I needed to do in the post and he gave me stories. Like, you know, when I learned most from the legends, not about moves, what to do, they tell you inspiring stories. So he gave me a lot of inspiring stories. He interviewed me a few times and I realized that I made a mistake at that point because he's a fabulous man. I'm glad he's given this recognition. It's interesting though, Shack, is indirectly as a big man in the NBA at a time when Wayne Embry and Bill Russell and John Thompson are big men in the NBA, he did indirectly help you and paved the way for the next generation and the generation after that. Every time I saw him, he told me stories. That big man, you get in W trying to do this, I play with Bill Russell, you know, throw it back out, repose, I tell Lanzler when they came in and saw the same thing. So, you know, he told me inspiring stories, Bill Russell told me inspiring stories, Akima Lajuan told me inspiring stories and they helped me become a great big man that I was. It also makes it very impressive that you're able to bring in all those big men but also be able to have a relationship with your point guard. Mike Jackson's, Charles Smith's, you know, the Iversons, those guys respect him just as much as the big fellows do, knowing that he was bringing in so many big guys year after year. Think about the two titles that were nearly there, the Fresno Pass. That's right, Pass, yes. And the perfect game by Villanova as well, he comes that close to two more of those NCAA. Mike Jordan makes that shot. Jordan makes that shot. We.