Hoyas' Thompson Calls It Quits

John Thompson resigned Friday as Georgetown basketball coach, leaving behind a school he turned into a powerhouse and took to the national championship during the past quarter-century.

Thompson said he was quitting purely for personal reasons. He and his wife, Gwen, who have been married for 32 years, have been separated since a fire damaged their home three years ago. Thompson filed for divorce in October 1997.

Craig Esherick, an assistant under Thompson for the last 16 years, was hired as the new coach.

"You know that I am going through a problem with marriage right now," Thompson said. "And I owe it to my family to address that. Not just to myself and to my wife, I owe it to my family to address that. I would be irresponsible if I did not address that. I can't deal with that as a distraction."

Thompson emphasized he was not leaving to explore an NBA job or because his team is suffering through a difficult season. The Hoyas are 7-6, but just 0-4 in the Big East, their worst start ever in the conference.

"I am not tired of basketball ," Thompson said. "I do it because I love it. I am not retiring."

A tearful Esherick said he tried to talk Thompson out of resigning, but was unsuccessful.

"He was my very first recruit I failed to land as coach, and I'm sorry for that," Esherick said. "I'm not happy for myself. I look forward to the challenge."

It appears John Thompson is throwing in the towel at Georgetown. (AP)

Thompson said he received a call from Temple coach John Chaney suggesting he take a sabbatical instead of resigning.

"I said, 'Do you ever lend somebody a toothbrush to use?' It's either their toothbrush or your toothbrush. You don't lend a team."

Thompson said he would remain at Georgetown, performing unspecified duties.

Word of Thompson's resignation first came Thursday night when Charles Freeman, father of recruit Courtland Freeman, said the coach had called him to say he was resigning.

Courtland Freeman, a 17-year-old forward from Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, S.C., said he received the news via a phone call from Ronny Thompson, the coach's son and an assistant with the team.

"I was surprised," Courtland Freeman said. "From my understanding, he's still going to be in the head office, so it looks like nothing's going to change."

Freeman is one of four major recruits Thompson was touting when he proclaimed "Help is coming" during the preseason. Unfortunately, next year's class can do nothing to help this year's team, which appears headed for Georgetown's first losing campaign since Thompson's first season as coach in 1972-73.

Despite this season's struggles, and despite some off-the-court problems the last few years that have taken some of the shine off the school's sports reputation, Thompson's achievements are memorable.

Georgetown was barely a blip on the national basketball radar screen when Thompson arrived 27 years ago. His first team went 12-14, the second was 13-13. Every team since has been invited to postseason tournament play -- 20 NCAAs and four NITs. He won the national championship with Patrick Ewing in 1984, and his Hoyas were runners-up in 1982 and 1985.

Thompson's record is 596-239 , a .713 winning percentage, and he is 10th among active coaches in victories. Furthermore, Thompson's players almost always graduated on time -- 97 percent of his players who stayed four years left with a degree.

But the dynasty has faded over the last few years, starting in 1996 when Allen Iverson became Thompson's first player to declare early for the NBA draft. Victor Page, Ed Sheffey and Kenny Brunner also left early, for various reasons, and all four -- especially Iverson -- have made ugly headlines that clearly embarrassed and hurt their former coach.

Also, Thompson last year allegedly received threatening phone calls from a former player, Kevin Millen, who in November ignored an order to stay off campus. Millen is being held in a halfway house and is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 27.

Last year, Georgetown had a 15-14 regular-season record and was invited to the NIT on reputation alone. The Hoyas efeated Florida before losing to Georgia Tech in the second round.

Thompson knew this year would be a challenge, but any hopes of the Hoyas being competitive in the Big East were dashed when junior guard Shernard Long, the team's leading scorer last season, was suspended for the season for academic reasons.

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