Playing career Īfter graduating from Archbishop Carroll, Thompson went to Providence College, where he played on the 1963 NIT Championship team with Ray Flynn, and was part of the first Providence NCAA tournament team in his senior year in 1964, when he received honorable mention from the Associated Press for its All-American team. He was voted to the all-tournament team and was later named a second-team Parade All-American.

Carroll capped off the undefeated 1960 season with a 57–55 win over St Catherine's Angels of Racine, Wisconsin in the Knights of Columbus National Championship Tournament with Thompson scoring a team-high 15 points and adding 12 rebounds. During his senior year, Thompson led Carroll to a 24–0 record, preserving their 48-game winning streak along the way. The next year, Thompson and Leftwich led the Lions over the Ollie Johnson/ Dave Bing led Spingarn, 69–54. In 1959, Carroll All-Mets Thompson, Monk Malloy, George Leftwich and Tom Hoover won over Cardozo 79–52. At Archbishop Carroll High School, Thompson emerged as a standout center, playing in three consecutive City Championship games (1958–60). As a child, his mother insisted on sending him to Catholic schools for the educational opportunities and academic challenges. Thompson was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and was a practicing Roman Catholic. He also served as an employee at the Center for 4-H and Youth Development at UDC. Thompson earned his Master’s Degree in Counseling and Guidance at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). He worked as a radio and television sports commentator after his retirement from coaching. Thompson became a high school coach in Washington, D.C., before coaching Georgetown for 27 seasons. He played for two seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Boston Celtics, who won an NBA championship in both seasons. Thompson played college basketball for the Providence Friars and earned honorable mention All-American honors in 1964. Thompson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

He became the first African-American head coach to win a major collegiate championship in basketball when he led the Hoyas to the NCAA Division I national championship in 1984. (September 2, 1941 – August 30, 2020) was an American college basketball coach for the Georgetown Hoyas men's team. ECAC Tournament South-Upstate Region champion (1979).2× ECAC tournament Southern Region champion (1975, 1976).Honorable mention All-American - AP ( 1964).

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