Iverson, Mutombo honor late John Thompson
Two of John Thompson's former college players, Hall of Famers Allen Iverson and Dikembe Mutombo, took to social media on Monday to pay their respects to the Hall of Fame coach after he died at the age of 78.
"May you always Rest in Paradise, where there is no pain or suffering. I will always see your face in my mind, hoping that I made you proud. 'Your Prodigal Son,'" Iverson wrote.
Thanks For Saving My Life Coach. I’m going to miss you, but I’m sure that you are looking down on us with a big smile. I would give anything just for one more phone call from you only to hear you say, “Hey MF”, then we would talk about everything except basketball....... pic.twitter.com/03yj4gZv5q
— Allen Iverson (@alleniverson) August 31, 2020
Iverson played for Thompson for two seasons from 1994 to 1996. During his brief run with the Hoyas, "The Answer" set a school scoring record with 22.9 points per game. He also won back-to-back Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Mutombo expressed his admiration for Thompson, whom he considered a father figure.
"Very sad news to wake up to on this cloudy morning. Our legendary Georgetown coach, John Thompson has passed away. He was my mentor, great teacher, hero, and a father figure to so many us who got the chance to play for him," Mutombo wrote in an Instagram post. "Under Coach Thompson, I learned a lot about the game of basketball but most importantly, I learned how to be a man in society. We will really miss him. RIP coach."
Mutombo spent three seasons with Thompson's Hoyas from 1988 to 1991. After playing limited minutes as a freshman, the 7-foot-2 center burst onto the scene in his sophomore year by averaging 4.1 blocks per game.