Ronald Thompson (born 1969) is an American former college basketball player and coach and current
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning broadcaster for
Comcast SportsNet
NBC Sports Regional Networks is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by the NBCUniversal division of the cable television company Comcast. The networks were origina ...
, based in
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...
. He is the son of Gwen Thompson and former
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
head coach
John R. Thompson, Jr., whose children also include a daughter, Tiffany, and
John Thompson III
John Robert Thompson III (born March 11, 1966) is the assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team since 2017. He previously served as the head coach of the men's basketball team at Georgetown University. He grew up in Wa ...
, who also is a former Georgetown head coach.
Born in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Thompson spent his formative years on basketball courts in the
Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the Washington metropolitan area. He contributed on
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...
(AAU) teams in the Washington, D.C, region and played high school basketball for coach Stu Vetter at
Flint Hill School
Flint Hill School, founded in 1956, is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school, in Oakton, Virginia, serving grades JK– 12. The school has separate upper and lower school campuses about a mile apart in Fairfax County, approximatel ...
in
Oakton,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. In 1992, Thompson graduated from Georgetown University as a four-year basketball letterman with a degree in
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
. After a brief stint as a trading assistant with
Prudential Securities
Prudential Securities, also formerly known as Prudential Securities Incorporated (PSI), was the financial services arm of the insurer, Prudential Financial. In 2003, Prudential Securities was merged into Wachovia Securities, a division of Wachovi ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, he became an assistant coach, first at the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
from 1993 to 1994, then with
Loyola College in Maryland from 1994 to 1996. His career in professional sports began as a video coordinator for
Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
coach
Larry Brown and the
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) in 1996; shortly afterward, he became a 76ers scout. In 1998, Thompson returned to Georgetown as an assistant coach under his father from 1998 to 1999 and then under head coach
Craig Esherick
Craig Robert Esherick (born November 1, 1956) is an American academic, lawyer, and former basketball coach who is currently an assistant professor of sport management for George Mason University and color commentator for college basketball games ...
from 1999 to 2003. He then was an assistant coach at the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
at
Fayetteville,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
from 2003 to 2006.
Thompson accepted the head coaching job at
Ball State University
Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis.
On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...
in April 2006. In his one season as coach of the Cardinals they finished a disappointing 9-22. Following the season, controversy developed surrounding a potential NCAA investigation into the basketball coaching staff attending voluntary player workouts outside of the regulated practice dates. The Ball State newspaper reported that on Sunday, June 24, 2007, "men's basketball coach Ronny Thompson was greeted at his office with seven note cards that simply read 'liars, cheaters,
acial slur'" Thompson resigned as men's basketball coach in July 2007, later claiming that he had been in a "racially hostile work environment." Ball State later exonerated Thompson of rules violations, apologized, and awarded him a $200,000 settlement. "In return, Thompson agreed to waive all claims he may have against the university and that nothing in the settlement constitutes an admission of liability or illegality by either party."
Thompson joined Comcast SportsNet in 2007, offering pre-game/postgame analysis for the
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...
and color commentary for college games. He also hosted the series ''My Life 365 with Ron Thompson'', which featured interviews with the preeminent athletes and media figures of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. His subjects included sports/media moguls
Ted Leonsis
Theodore John Leonsis (born January 8, 1957) is an American businessman, investor, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and former politician. He is a former senior executive with America Online (AOL), and the founder, chairman, and CEO of Monumen ...
and
Sheila Johnson
Sheila Crump Johnson (born January 25, 1949) is an American businesswoman, co-founder of BET, CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, and the first billionaire African-American woman.
Johnson is team president, managing partner, and governor of the ...
, former
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
swingman
Grant Hill
Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player who is a co-owner and executive of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Duke University and is widely considere ...
, Georgetown Hoyas teammate
Alonzo Mourning
Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-year ...
, and legendary Hoyas
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
Allen Iverson
Allen Ezail Iverson (; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions. Iver ...
;Thompson received an Emmy for the latter interview. Thompson also conducted a rare, exclusive interview with
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
guard
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...
months before he helped the Lakers secure their seventeenth franchise title. In the summer of 2010, Thompson served as director of the Kobe Bryant/Nike Summer Basketball Camp which toured
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
Thompson is also a contributor to
NBA TV
NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular ...
and occasionally served as guest-host for his father's ''The John Thompson Show'', which was broadcast daily on-air/online on
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...
until ending its run in February 2012.
Steinberg, Dan, "John Thompson ends run as D.C. radio talk show host," washingtonpost.com, February 29, 2012.
/ref>
Head coaching record
See also
* 1988–89 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
* 1989–90 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
* 1990–91 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
The 1990–91 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1990–91 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 19th season as head coach. They played their home games at ...
* 1991–92 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Ronny
1969 births
Living people
American men's basketball players
Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball coaches
Ball State Cardinals men's basketball coaches
Basketball coaches from Washington, D.C.
Basketball players from Washington, D.C.
Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball coaches
Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players
Loyola Greyhounds men's basketball coaches
Oregon Ducks men's basketball coaches