John Thompson Never Lost

My grandma made sure I grew up Coach’s way

Coach Horace Broadnax (left) who played basketball for Georgetown meets with his old coach John Thompson before the game in 1997. Photo: Larry Morris/The The Washington Post/Getty Images

For nearly three decades, John Thompson didn’t just coach Georgetown University’s elite men’s basketball team, producing NBA Hall of Famers like Patrick Ewing and Allen Iverson. As a proud Black community elder, he also inspired and encouraged young Black men to expand their spheres of power and influence — and to so defiantly.

Thompson now rests well after 78 years. As a global civil rights icon, who spoke out to protect educational funding for students who needed it most, he extended the standard of Black excellence set by previous Black generations.

Growing up in Washington, D.C., I idolized Thompson and his Georgetown University Hoyas team. The coach’s influence taught me a lesson that still wears well with me today: It’s best to wear Nike Dunks while making “good trouble.”

And then there are the legendary Black athletes Thompson nurtured.

He coached Ann Iverson’s son Allen for two years and molded him into “The Answer.” A ratchet teenager evolved into a kente-jersey-draped superhero able to sidestep a life of crime with a crossover dribble. Thompson achieved similar goals with Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo, and Alonzo Mourning. He inspired all these young men — the son of Jamaican immigrants, an indomitable Congolese titan, and a…