Thompson was also a staunch supporter of Iverson, who spent four months in prison for allegedly being involved in a fight at a bowling alley his senior year of high school. He credited the coach with saving his life.

In 1993, a judge sentenced Iverson to five years in jail for his alleged role in the brawl, according to The Washington Post. The judge found Iverson guilty of provoking a racially motivated fight, despite witness accounts that a white man spewed slurs at him and his group first, NPR reports. In June 1995, Iverson won an appeal and his case was overturned due to a lack of evidence.

Iverson would go on to win Big East Rookie of the Year during his first year at Georgetown and led the Hoyas to an NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Elite Eight, per ESPN.

Following word of the coach’s passing, Iverson expressed his condolences on Twitter.

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

“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,” the former Philadelphia 76ers player wrote.

In January, Thompson’s autobiography with Jesse Williams is set to be released in bookstores. Thompson’s book, I Came As A Shadow, aims to take readers through the coach’s life growing up in Jim Crow segregation to his efforts building Georgetown into a paragon of Black culture.

Thompson is survived by his children, John Thompson III, Ronny Thompson and Tiffany Thompson.

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