Nov. 19, 2009

WASHINGTON - Former Georgetown University Men's Basketball Head Coach John Thompson was named one of three recipients of the second annual Lapchick Character Awards at a luncheon at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. on Thursday, Nov. 19.

The award is presented to basketball coaches who have shown character traits and coaching skills like that of Hall of Famer Joe Lapchick, who coached St. John's and the New York Knicks.

Thompson shares this year's honor with Kay Yow, who coached the NC State women's basketball team and recently lost her 22-year fight with breast cancer, and national high school coaching legend Jack Curran, who led the men's basketball team at New York City's Archbishop Malloy to more than 900 wins - a state record.

Thompson coached the Hoyas from 1972-99, leading the squad to the 1984 national title - the first ever to be won by an African-American head coach. He garnered 596 wins and coached Georgetown to three Final Four appearances. He was an outspoken voice concerning the treatment of minority players, especially his fight against NCAA Proposition 42 that brought national attention to economic and educational discrimination. Thompson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 1999.

For more information, visit www.lapchickaward.com.