After leading the Golden Eagles to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament for the fourth straight time and directing one of the nation’s top defenses in 2012-13, Stephen Thompson enters his ninth season as head coach and 12th season overall with the Cal State L.A. men’s basketball program.
Thompson guided the Golden Eagles to a 16-11 overall record and a 13-9 mark in CCAA play last season. Cal State L.A. finished in a tie for fourth in the CCAA, which was its best since a third-place finish in 2008. The Golden Eagles wound up just one game out of third place and two games out of second.
Cal State L.A.’s conference record matched its mark from 2011-12 and was the best since 2001. A lost tiebreaker resulted in the Golden Eagles having to open on the road in the CCAA Championship Tournament and Cal State L.A. fell to San Francisco State in a first-round game.
Under Thompson’s leadership, the Golden Eagles led the NCAA Division II in field-goal percentage defense after limiting opponents to just 36.2 percent shooting. Cal State L.A. was No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense after allowing only 57.4 points per game and No. 4 in the country in blocked shots with 5.9 per contest.
Cal State L.A. limited opponents to 60 points or less in 17 of its 27 games and held foes to 50 points or less eight times.
In his first eight seasons as the Cal State L.A. head coach, Thompson has led the team to an overall record of 111-108, including a 91-74 mark over the past six seasons. Under Thompson’s direction, the Golden Eagles have seen a dramatic improvement in their defensive performance and allowed only 57.4 points per game last season compared to 71.7 points per game in 2005.
The 2012-13 campaign was a successful follow-up to an outstanding 2011-12 season when Thompson directed the Golden Eagles to a 17-10 overall record and a 13-9 mark in CCAA play. Cal State L.A. recorded its best conference record since 2001 and finished just three games out of first place, which is the closest the Golden Eagles have been to the top spot since 2000.
Once again, Thompson presided over one of the top defenses in the country. Cal State L.A. was 13th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 60.9 points per game, and 11th in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (39.6 percent).
The Golden Eagles posted impressive home wins over regular-season champion Chico State and tournament champion Humboldt State and clutch road wins at Cal Poly Pomona and Sonoma State. The Golden Eagles led for most of a first-round tournament game at Humboldt State before ultimately falling, 78-75.
Thompson guided the Golden Eagles through some major injury problems and the program enjoyed several significant achievements in 2010-11. Most notably, Cal State L.A. posted its first win in the CCAA Championship Tournament with a 66-60 win over Cal State San Bernardino in San Bernardino. The Golden Eagles advanced to the tourney semi-finals, where they bowed out after a tough battle with top-seed Humboldt State.
The Golden Eagles, despite playing without two injured starters for much of the season, still recorded a winning season with a 15-13 overall mark. Cal State L.A. earned the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament after posting a conference record of 10-12.
Thompson had the Golden Eagles in position to qualify for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time since 2000 before injuries derailed that quest. Cal State L.A. opened the season with a 10-2 record that included conference wins over Cal State San Bernardino, Cal Poly Pomona, Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus. The win over Cal State San Bernardino snapped a 24-game losing streak to the Coyotes dating back to 1998 and the win over Cal Poly Pomona was the first over the Broncos in the Eagles Nest since 1999.
Cal State L.A. was ranked as high as ninth in the NCAA Division II West Region, its first appearance in the regional poll since the final week of the regular season in 2008.
Defense led the way. The Golden Eagles ranked 13th in the nation in scoring defense and allowed just 63.1 points per game. Cal State L.A. was also 12th in the nation in fewest turnovers and No. 1 in the CCAA in turnover margin.
Thompson also directed one of the nation’s top defenses in 2009-10 and the Golden Eagles powered their way to a 14-14 overall record. Cal State L.A. was fifth in the country in field-goal percentage defense and 17th in the nation in scoring defense. Thompson led the Golden Eagles to several big wins, including a road win at Cal Poly Pomona. The win snapped a 19-game losing streak to the Broncos dating back to 1999.
Under Thompson’s leadership, the Golden Eagles allowed their opponents to shoot only 38.6 percent and gave up only 62.5 points per game. Cal State L.A. also led the CCAA in rebounding with a margin of 5.2 rebounds per game.
The Golden Eagles were able to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2008-09 campaign. Cal State L.A. lost its leading scorer halfway through the season and finished with a 12-15 overall mark. Thompson kept the short-handed Golden Eagles in the chase for a CCAA Tournament spot all the way to the final weekend.
The injury-plagued year was a disappointing follow-up to an outstanding 2007-08 season. The Golden Eagles posted a 17-11 overall record and finished in a tie for third in the CCAA. Cal State L.A. qualified for the CCAA Championship Tournament as a No. 3 seed and hosted a first-round game. The Golden Eagles finished the season ranked ninth in the NCAA Division II West Region and made their first appearance in a regional poll since 2000. The 17 wins were the most for the Golden Eagles since the 1999-2000 season and the third-place finish in the conference was the best since a second-place finish in 2000.
Thompson was able to lead the Golden Eagles to their best season in eight years despite losing two of the team’s top three scorers – one after just eight games and the other after 14 contests.
The Golden Eagles were 10-17 in 2006-07 in a season that included wins over CCAA champion Humboldt State (94-85) and Division-1 bound Cal State Bakersfield (70-63). Cal State L.A. also had its first All-American since 2003 when leading scorer Jontae Vinson earned honorable mention recognition. Vinson also became the first Golden Eagle to earn first-team All-Region honors since 2003.
In Thompson’s first season as head coach, the Golden Eagles took a big jump, improving nine games overall and becoming one of the most improved programs in the NCAA Division II. The Golden Eagles swept local rival Cal State Dominguez Hills and posted a big win over Cal State Bakersfield to highlight a 10-17 season.
Thompson became the head coach of the program in March of 2005 following the retirement of former head coach Dave Yanai. He joined Cal State L.A. as an assistant coach in 2002.
A Los Angeles native and Crenshaw High School graduate, Thompson had his No. 32 jersey retired at the school. He was a three-year starter at Syracuse from 1986-90 and was a key part of the team that reached the 1987 NCAA Championship Game against Indiana and also the 1989 squad that advanced to a regional championship game against Illinois.
Thompson earned honorable mention All-America honors by the Associated Press and The Sporting News in 1989 and 1990 and was the Big East Conference’s Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1990. During his four years playing for legendary Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, the Orange won two Big East titles in 1987 and 1990, finished second in the conference in 1988 and made four NCAA Tournament appearances, including three trips to the Sweet 16. Syracuse was a combined 113-31 overall and 45-19 in conference play during Thompson’s playing career.
Thompson still owns the second-best career shooting mark in NCAA Tournament history (minimum of 70 makes). In 15 NCAA Tournament games, Thompson hit 78-of-114 field-goal attempts (.684). Former UCLA great Bill Walton leads that category with a .686 percentage in 12 games.
He is second on Syracuse’s career list for games played (144), is second in career field goals (801) and seventh in career scoring (1,956). At the end of his collegiate playing career, Thompson ranked third in Syracuse history in scoring and seventh in steals.
Professionally, Thompson had stints with the Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and the Denver Nuggets and also played in Europe, Japan, the CBA, the ABA and the Southern California Pro League.
Before joining the Cal State L.A. coaching staff, Thompson served as Athletic Director for the Coast Christian School in Redondo Beach, while continuing both his roles as Co-Founder and Director of Give & Go Basketball Academy and as coach for the Southern California All-Stars.
He also had a role in the 2002 basketball movie, “Like Mike.”
Thompson received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Syracuse in 1990.
He and his wife, Amy, have two children: Stephen Jr. and Ethan.
