This is the eighth of ten posts revealing the ten Marquette nominees for the SBN Wisconsin Hall of Fame. These are in no particular order, except for the particular order they're in.
Today's posts come courtesy of lancheman, who's new to the site but not to the Marquette basketball scene. My sources tell me that, in real life, lancheman is actually a journalist (no foolin') and an MU alum who's old enough to remember the Al McGuire years.
George Thompson has to be in the Hall of Fame. Why?
For one, until Jerel McNeal showed up, Thompson led the all-time scoring list for years. Thompson scored 1,773 points in his years at Marquette (1966-'69), and he did it in three years.
Not impressed? Consider this. He did it without a shot clock, took only 87 games to reach 1,773 points, and never had the benefit of a three-point line.
Thompson was only 6 feet, 3 inches tall. And he often played with other Marquette stars who were just as adept at scoring as he was. Anyone ever hear of Dean Meminger?
Thompson holds the school record for career scoring average at 20.4 points a game. In the 1967-'68 season, he averaged 22.9 points per game.
Thompson was named an All-American his senior year. Afterward, he played professionally for six seasons, including five in the old American Basketball Association. He finished his career with the Milwaukee Bucks, playing in 1974-'75.
Thompson also was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Silver Anniversary All-American team in 1994.
And if you're still convinced Thompson doesn't deserves this honor, give him this. He coined the term, "No footer," on MU broadcasts to describe a shot under the basket.