Almost a week has passed since John Thompson left us. Been trying to come up with the right words to say, but nothing I write will do justice to his legacy or the impact he made on so many, including us @westwood1sports. He was our lead analyst for the NCAA Tournament since 2003.

Coach Thompson's basketball acumen was obviously superb, but he was usually the smartest one in the room about off-the-court matters too. Learned alot from him about so many topics, including race. Wish we could hear his insight on how this country could better heal right now.

An observation that most others couldn't see--he hadn't coached a game since 1999, yet annually at the Final Four, nearly every single player would come over to him courtside to introduce themselves, shake his hand and thank him for his contributions and impact.

The recent ones never saw him coach because they're too young, yet all knew how important he was to the history of the sport and wanted to pay their respects. We were lucky to have him on our team for so long and our condolences to his family and all his grieving friends.