Whereas John Robert Thompson Jr., was born on September 2, 1941, and raised in Washington, DC, where he was part of the Archbishop Carroll High School men’s basketball team, and emerged as an exceptional center, playing in three consecutive city championship games; Whereas after graduating from Archbishop Carroll High School, Thompson attended Providence College, where he was part of the Providence Friars team that won the National Invitation Tournament Championship in 1963; Whereas Thompson graduated from Providence College in 1964 as the school’s all-time leader in points, scoring average and field goal percentage; Whereas Thompson was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the third round of the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft in 1964, played two seasons with the team, and won an NBA title each season; Whereas Thompson began his illustrious coaching career as head coach at St. Anthony High School in Washington, DC, from 1966 to 1972, leading the team to a 112–28 overall record in his six seasons as head coach; Whereas after coaching at St. Anthony High School, Thompson was hired to become the head coach of the men’s basketball team at Georgetown University, where he spent the remainder of his hall-of-fame career, from 1972 to 1999; Whereas as head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas, Thompson led the team to 20 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournaments, three semifinals of the NCAA tournament (commonly known as the Final Four ), and to victory in 596 games (a 71-percent win percentage), including in the NCAA National Championship in 1984, and six Big East Conference Tournament Championships; Whereas Thompson became the first African-American head coach to win a major collegiate basketball championship when he led the Georgetown Hoyas to victory in the NCAA National Championship in 1984