John Thurston is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 college basketball

College basketball

College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

 coach and a current assistant women's basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 coach at Fordham University

Fordham University

Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Thurston played both college baseball and basketball He was born in the Bronx

The Bronx

The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Coaching career

Thurston started out as an assistant basketball coach of men's and women's basketball at Fairleigh Dickinson University

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...

's Madison

Madison, New Jersey

Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the population was 16,530. It also is known as "The Rose City".-Geography:Madison is located at ....

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 campus

Campus

A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...

 from 1971

1971 in sports

1971 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Gustav Thöni, Italy** Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria-American football:...

 to 1975

1975 in sports

1975 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Gustav Thöni, Italy** Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria-American football:...

. He then joined Lou Campanelli

Lou Campanelli

Lou Campanelli is an American basketball coach. He served as head coach at University of California, Berkeley from 1986 to 1993.Campanelli played a significant role in Pac-10 men's basketball, having served as head basketball coach at California for eight years from 1985-93. He compiled a record of...

's staff at James Madison University

James Madison University

James Madison University is a public coeducational research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the university has undergone four name changes before settling with James Madison University...

, and was promoted to head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

 in 1985

1985 in sports

1985 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup:** Men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg** Women's overall season champion: Michela Figini, Switzerland-American football:...

. With the Dukes

James Madison Dukes

The James Madison University Dukes is the name given the athletics teams of James Madison University. The name "Dukes" is derived from Samuel Page Duke, the university's second president. JMU is a charter member of the Colonial Athletic Association, which sponsors sports at the NCAA Division I level...

, Thurston helped lead the team to three straight trips to the NCAA tournament from 1981

1981 in sports

1981 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup –** Men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, USA** Women's overall season champion: Marie-Theres Nadig, Switzerland-American football:...

-1983

1983 in sports

1983 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup:** Men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, United States** Women's overall season champion: Tamara McKinney, United States-American football:...

, and was named Colonial Athletic Association

Colonial Athletic Association

The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...

 Coach of the Year in 1987

1987 in sports

1987 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Pirmin Zurbriggen, Switzerland** Women's overall season champion: Maria Walliser, Switzerland-American football:...

. In 1988

1988 in sports

1988 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Pirmin Zurbriggen, Switzerland** Women's overall season champion: Michela Figini, Switzerland-American football:...

, he moved to Wingate University

Wingate University

Wingate University was founded by Baptists in 1896 as Wingate School, an independent, co-educational institution and became a four-year college in 1977. In 1996, Wingate College became Wingate University....

 as athletic director

Athletic director

An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...

 and head men's basketball coach. From 2003

2003 in sports

2003 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season championship: Stephan Eberharter, Austria** Women's overall season championship: Janica Kostelić, Croatia-American football:...

 to 2005

2005 in sports

2005 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Bode Miller ** Women's overall season champion: Anja Pärson -American football:...

, he was the top assistant at UNC Wilmington

University of North Carolina at Wilmington

The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, sometimes referred to as UNC Wilmington, is a public, co-educational university located in Wilmington, North Carolina...

, and in 2005, became the head coach at Northwood University

Northwood University

Northwood University is a private university with multiple locations. The school has four residential campuses: Midland, Michigan , Cedar Hill, Texas , West Palm Beach, Florida and a joint program with Hotel Institute Montreux in Montreux, Switzerland, began in 2001...

, as the first head coach of the women's program. In two seasons with Northwood, he led the Lady Seahawks to two Florida Sun Conference

Florida Sun Conference

The Sun Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina...

 titles, a trip to the NAIA national tournament

NAIA national women's basketball championship

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Women's Basketball National Championship has been held annually since 1981. It was established one year before the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament. It was created to crown a women's national title for smaller colleges and universities. Since...

, and was named Coach of the Year in 2008

2008 in sports

2008 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* Louisiana State University Tigers defeat The Ohio State University Buckeyes 38-24 in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game, thus becoming the first two-time BCS National Champions, and the first BCS titlists with two...

.