The Hoyas are moving in a new direction, as the university announced Thursday that coach John Thompson Iii wouldn't be returning next season. Thompson went 14-18 last season, and went 5-13 in conference play. Many people were speculating about his future once the season ended, but people were worried about the wrath of his father and coaching legend John Thompson Jr.
The Hoyas have become irrelevant in the past few years, and from a prestigious history, many fans and alum aren't happy with their recent performances. Now that Thompson is out, where will the Georgetown look to hire their next coach.
Rough times
John Thompson's time at Georgetown wasn't all bad. He has a career record of 278-151 which is really impressive for a 13-year tenure. He has led the Hoyas to eight NCAA tournaments. The made a Final Four appearance in 2007, but they failed to make it out of the first weekend in their next six tournament appearances. What makes it worse is they lost to a lowered seeded opponent all six times. Thompson III and the Hoyas failed to make the NCAA tournament in 3 of the last four seasons. When you fail to live up to expectations, you will get fired, and that is what happened to Thompson III.
According to ESPN, Georgetown University president John DeGioia said in a statement, "It is with profound regret and deep appreciation that I informed John Thompson III this morning that the university will no longer be retaining his services as our head men's basketball coach.
For 13 years, he has been one of the elite coaches in college basketball."
Moving on
Thompson released a statement about his firing, thanking the University for his time there.
"I am honored to have been the head coach at Georgetown University for the past 13 years, where I had the privilege of coaching and mentoring outstanding student-athletes.
I am grateful to the fans of Georgetown for their tremendous support. Georgetown basketball has been a part of my life since 1972, which makes this moment even more impactful, but I look forward to my next chapter."
Thompson now must make the decision if he feels like coaching again. He will garner some attention from teams, as he has a great resume, but he might want to enjoy life a little.
No word on if any teams are interested in his services at this point.
The Hoyas now have to look around and see what coach will best fit their school. Consistency at the coaching spot is something the Hoyas have been blessed to have, but all good things come to an end. Expect the coaching talks to heat up after the NCAA tournament.
