As the NCAA Tournament gets ready to tip off part Sweet 16 games, Georgetown is sitting at home and on the lookout for a new head coach. George Thompson III has been fired by Georgetown. Jeff Goodman of ESPN was the first to report the news, via Twitter.
Georgetown has parted ways with John Thompson III, sources told ESPN. https://t.co/w0OkCCVJQ6
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 23, 2017
The university has since confirmed the dismissal with 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,” a statement from university president John J. DeGioia said. “We are committed to taking the necessary steps to strengthen our program and maintaining the highest levels of academic integrity and national competitiveness.”
Thompson III also released a statement…
Statement from John Thompson III (released via agent David Falk)- "I look forward to my next chapter." Doesn't say if fired or quit #Hoyas pic.twitter.com/VFRBw8JEqr
— Karen Travers (@karentravers) March 23, 2017
As is the norm, Georgetown is now undergoing a national search for a new coach.
Thompson’s record at Georgetown ends at 278-151, with three regular season Big East championships and one more Big East tournament championship. Thompson was hired to be the head coach of the Hoyas in 2004 after four seasons at Princeton with a pair of Ivy League championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.
He replaced Craig Esherick, who replaced Thompson III’s father, John Thompson. Under Thompson III, Georgetown went to eight NCAA tournaments and reached the Final Four once (in 2007), but the Hoyas failed to reach the NCAA Tournament in three out of the last four seasons. Georgetown just finished up a second straight losing season too, which did not help build a case for a return for Thompson III.
The writing had seemingly been on the wall down the stretch of the 2016-2017 season. The school had to break up a postgame press conference following a blowout loss at home against Villanova as questions turned to focusing on Thompson’s future as head coach.
Georgetown’s coaching search will be telling just to see where Georgetown ranks in the college basketball pecking order. The traditional Big East power has long been removed from being a regular contender on the national scene and even in the Big East, but the potential for bouncing back seems to be in place with the right coaching hire. Will the school stay within the Georgetown family and perhaps give Patrick Ewing a chance to run the show, or will they go outside the box and bring in a coach on the rise in a mid major conference? One name we know won’t be on the short list is Allen Iverson (although that would be fun).
We’ll be watching this one closely.
