Thompson Has Interim Tag Removed At Cal State-LA
1/12/2006 8:21:57 PM | Men's Basketball
Cal State-LA Sports Information
LOS ANGELES - Cal State L.A. Athletics today announced that the interim tag was removed from Stephen Thompson's title and he has been promoted to the full position of head men's basketball coach. Thompson, a former SU standout, had been serving as interim head coach since last March following the retirement of former head coach Dave Yanai.
"Stephen has done a great job this season," said new CSULA athletic director Dan Bridges. "The team is improving daily and I have every confidence that he soon will have our men's basketball program contending for the conference title."
Under Thompson's guidance, the Golden Eagles are 5-6 overall and 2-2 in CCAA Conference play this season following a disappointing 1-26 campaign last year. The Golden Eagles conference win over UC San Diego on December 3 snapped a four-game losing streak to the Tritons as well as CSULA's 22-game overall conference losing streak. Last weekend, the Golden Eagles earned an 87-76 win at crosstown-rival Cal State Dominguez Hills, marking CSULA's first win in Carson since the 2000-01 season.
In addition, Cal State L.A. has twice topped the 100-point barrier this year: a school-record 138 points on December 17 against Redlands plus 109 points in the season opener on November 15 against Hope International.
A Los Angeles native and Crenshaw High School graduate, Thompson was a three-year starter at Syracuse from 1986-1990, including the 1987 squad which made the NCAA Championship Game against Indiana and the 1989 squad that advanced to the regional final before falling to Illinois. Professionally, Thompson had stints with the Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and the Denver Nuggets, in addition to playing in Europe, Japan, the CBA, the ABA and the Southern California Pro League. He served as assistant coach at CSULA for three seasons (2002-03 through 2004-05) before assuming the helm of the Golden Eagle program.
"I'm very proud to be named the permanent head coach at Cal State L.A.," said Thompson. "We've made a lot of strides early this season towards our goal of getting this program back to the top of the conference as well as the NCAA Tournament. While there's no question we still have plenty of work to do, I believe we are establishing a solid foundation with a style of play that will be attractive to recruits as well as one the entire CSULA community will enjoy watching and supporting."
