Thompson To Be Honored By His Alma Mater
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State men’s basketball assistant coach Stephen Thompson has been selected as a LetterWinner of Distinction by the Syracuse University Varsity Club.
The LetterWinner of Distinction is the highest award that the Syracuse University Varsity Club bestows upon former student-athletes and teams. Thompson will receive the award at the LetterWinner of Distinction Dinner on Friday, Sept. 11 at the OnCenter in Syracuse, N.Y.
Thompson is known as one of the best college basketball players in Syracuse University history. He was a three-year starter on the Orangemen basketball team while earning All-America honors in 1989 and 1990 and being named the Big East Conference’s Men’s Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year in 1990.
During his four years at Syracuse, the Orangemen went 113-31 overall, won Big East titles in 1987 and 1990, made four NCAA Tournament appearances, including three trips to the Sweet 16, and reached the 1987 NCAA Championship Game against Indiana.
Thompson is second all-time at Syracuse with 144 games played and seventh in scoring with 1,956 points. He still owns the second-best career shooting mark in NCAA Tournament history at 68.4 percent in 15 games, trailing only UCLA’s Bill Walton who had a 68.6 percent clip in 12 games.
After graduating from Syracuse in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Thompson had stints with the NBA’s Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets. He also played in Europe, Japan, the CBA and the ABA.
He is entering his second season with the Oregon State men’s basketball program, and his son, Stephen Thompson Jr., will be a freshman on the men’s basketball team for the 2015-16 season.
