Brooks Thompson, Former NBA Player, Dies at Age 45
Former NBA point guard Brooks Thompson has died at the age of 45, the Orlando Magic announced.
According to Mark Cooper of the Tulsa World, Thompson died on Thursday after he was diagnosed with double organ failure in April and a blood infection in May.
He spent four NBA seasons with the Magic, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks, and he was the head men's basketball coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio from 2006 through last season.
Thompson averaged 4.5 points and 1.7 assists per game during his NBA career after the Magic selected him with the No. 27 overall pick in the 1994 draft out of Oklahoma State and previously Texas A&M.
He was an assistant coach at Oklahoma State from 1998-1999 and 2001-2002 before eventually taking the UTSA job.
Former Oklahoma State assistant and head coach Sean Sutton had the following to say about his former colleague, per Cooper: "[He] certainly was a great husband and dad to Michelle and his three wonderful little girls. He was highly popular among Oklahoma State fans and just a really nice, great guy. Obviously I'm going to miss him a lot and so are a lot of other people."
Cowboys play-by-play announcer Dave Hunziker also tweeted his memories regarding Thompson:
In 10 seasons at UTSA, Thompson led the Roadrunners to a 133-178 record, including an NCAA tournament berth in 2011.
The Littleton, Colorado, native was fired by UTSA following the 2015-16 campaign, which saw the team go just 5-27.
Thompson was a first-team All-Big Eight selection as a senior at Oklahoma State in 1994, averaging 16.9 points and 5.7 assists per game, and he still stands as one of the top point guards in Cowboys history.
