Legendary Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson Jr. died on Monday at the age of 78.
One of the many men Thompson help mold and mentor was Sixers legend Allen Iverson, who posted this heartfelt message about his former coach on Instagram.
After a bowling alley brawl as a high school student, Iverson's future was in jeopardy, but Thompson came to see Iverson play and eventually offered him a scholarship at Georgetown, where AI thrived.
Iverson played two seasons at Georgetown winning the Big East Rookie of the Year and was named to the All Rookie Tournament First Team in year one. In year two, Iverson led the team to a Big East championship and to the Elite 8. He was also named a First Team All American and was Thompson's first player to leave early for the NBA.
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Of course, Iverson was selected No. 1 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1996 draft. And we all know the rest.
Thompson was inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 1999, where Iverson joined him in 2016. Thompson's 1984 National Title run was the first by a black head coach.