Thompson III back at work after solid season

WASHINGTON -- John Thompson III had barely settled into his chair at a Georgetown neighborhood cafe when a woman approached him.

"You're not a lookalike, are you?" she said.

Assured that she was indeed addressing the head coach of Georgetown, the woman offered her congratulations, and Thompson accepted graciously.

So, is this how it's been since the Hoyas made the Final Four? Is the coach feted everywhere he goes? Does everyone in town suddenly want to buy him a drink?

"I haven't been out," Thompson said. "This might be the first time I've been out."

Two days after Georgetown's 67-60 loss to Ohio State, Thompson was studying his recruiting calendar. Before the week was done, he had made his first recruiting trip.

Speaking engagements? That's not his style. He's not a limelight guy, even though it shone on him brightly when he led the Hoyas to their first Final Four appearance in 22 years. He won't be another Jim Larranaga, the George Mason coach whose ebullient personality made him the ideal Final Four touring celebrity last spring and summer.

In fact, the only reason Thompson was having lunch with a reporter was to fulfill a promise.

During the season, Thompson is almost unflappable when discussing the Hoyas, always focusing on the next game and averse to giving any sort of general assessment of the team. He said it's easier to think about the big picture once the season is over, but that no one ever asks about it then.

This time, someone was asking.

"Sitting here now, still in many ways it's hard for me to say we had a good year," Thompson said. "You get that close and you just don't know -- so many things have to fall in place to make it to that point."

His mind drifted to his childhood, when his father's Georgetown team lost to Iowa by one point in the regional finals of the 1980 NCAA Tournament.

"I remember that was one of the times in my life where back in the room I saw my Pappy cry," Thompson said. "Years later, after they won (the championship), I remember him saying you don't know if you're going to get to that point again. So much has to go right.