Book World: An unsparing memoir from an outspoken coach
George Solomon, The Washington Post
Dec. 24, 2020
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By John Thompson
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John Thompson, who dominated the Georgetown University basketball scene for 27 years, held little back on the court and off. So it's not surprising that his autobiography, "I Came as a Shadow," is brutally honest and unsparing both to many in Thompson's life and to Georgetown. Thompson, who died in August, was Georgetown's coach from 1972 to 1999. In 1984, he led the Hoyas to the NCAA Division I national championship, becoming the first Black head coach to capture a major basketball college title. He was dogged throughout his career by the repercussions of his outspokenness. "There's a group of guys out there who sincerely don't like me and hope they never see me again," he writes in the book. "I feel the same way about some of them, too."