Remembering legendary NCAA basketball coach John Thompson

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• Judy Woodruff:

  And Hall of Fame basketball coach John Thompson has died. He made Georgetown University a national champion and was outspoken about matters of race.

  Jeffrey Brown looks at his life.

• Man:

  Georgetown will finish the year.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  John Thompson Jr. made history that day in 1984, becoming the first Black head coach to win an NCAA title. He was known for transforming Georgetown into a powerhouse and molding basketball greats like Patrick Ewing and Allen Iverson both on and off the court.

• Allen Iverson:

  Coach Thompson saved my life. No other schools were recruiting me anymore. My mom went to Georgetown and begged him to give me a chance. And he did.

  (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

• Jeffrey Brown:

  Thompson saw his own role as going beyond basketball.

• John Thompson:

  I could use it to open a doorway for myself or for other people. It was an educational instrument for me.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  Thompson made a point of recruiting Black athletes to the predominantly white campus, and spoke out about injustices he saw. In 1989, he famously walked off the court before a game to protest an NCAA scholarship rule he felt would hurt disadvantaged students.

• John Thompson:

  Because of the success we were having as a basketball coach, and me being an African American, I had an obligation to say something about it. So, I did.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  The NCAA ultimately modified the rule. John Thompson coached at Georgetown for 27 seasons and won almost 600 games. He was 78.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown.