(Editor’s note: With Allen Community College set to celebrate its centennial anniversary, the Register spoke with several former Red Devils on why ACC remains a special place in their hearts. Today, we speak to Van Thompson.)
Van Thompson’s basketball legacy in Iola and Allen County is forever preserved.
At Allen Community College, he guided the nascent Red Devil program through its early years into the late 1970s.
It was under Thompson’s tutelage that two former Red Devils — Becky Carlson and Leslie Crane — embarked on successful coaching careers of their own.
Then, after a decade at the junior college level, Thompson took the reins at Iola High School, where he led the Fillies to the state tournament three times, including a third-place finish in his first year at the helm.
Funny thing is, basketball isn’t really even Thompson’s signature sport.
It’s tennis.
Thompson, 80, grew up not far from a tennis court in his native Hutchinson and spent countless hours hitting balls back and forth.
It set in motion a career in athletics.
Coupled with his affinity for community college — “I’m a product of one,” he noted — and you start to realize what makes Van Thompson tick.
“I thought I’d enjoy teaching at that level,” he explained. “I enjoyed the high school level, too, but I really liked the college instruction.”
Holding court
Thompson’s high school athletic career started on the basketball court.
“I started a few games my senior year whenever the starting point guard was sick,” he laughed.
But while he was merely serviceable on the basketball court, he was a standout on the tennis court.
