Thompson ‘living the dream’: Coach describes bittersweet decision to leave St. Pauls, return to WSSU

WINSTON-SALEM — Corey Thompson describes the last couple of weeks as a whirlwind. But as he says it, he’s abundantly clear that he finds that to be a good thing.

“It’s been a whirlwind, but like I’ve been telling everybody, I’m living the dream,” Thompson told The Robesonian Tuesday. “Just having the opportunity to go back to my alma mater and coach there, it’s been a dream for me. It’s been busy, as you can imagine, but I’m still taking it all in stride, taking it one day at a time, and doing everything we can to put a successful product on the court.”

Thompson, a Lumberton native and the head boys basketball coach at St. Pauls from 2016-24, was named last week as head men’s basketball coach at Winston-Salem State, where he played basketball from 1998-2002.

While one side of the story, of Thompson taking over at his alma mater, is understandably exciting for him and his family, the other side of the decision to lead the Rams program was leaving St. Pauls after eight successful seasons with the Bulldogs.

“It was a very difficult decision — more than what people probably imagined, because I’m a relationship guy,” Thompson said. “I really grew a relationship, not just with the players but with faculty, with the administrators, and we really built a really solid, like a family atmosphere relationship here. So it had to take something like this for me to go back, to leave St. Pauls.”

The bittersweet feeling brought by the situation is shared by St. Pauls Principal Jason Suggs.

“Corey did an excellent job. I saw players grow under his tutelage,” Suggs said. “He was a great fit, and I really wish him all the best. It’s a great opportunity that you just can’t pass up. … He may be gone, but once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog.”

Thompson was an assistant coach at Winston-Salem State, Fayetteville State and UNC Pembroke for over a decade before coming to St. Pauls in 2016.

“I came (to St. Pauls) not really knowing what to expect, I just knew I wanted to stay in coaching, but I actually came here and learned a lot more about, more than just coaching, but about life and everything and just trying to help prepare me for the seat I’m in today,” Thompson said.

Thompson was 139-72 in his eight seasons at St. Pauls, with a 79-29 record in conference play, winning three conference championships and reaching the state playoffs every season. His teams advanced to the second round of the playoffs six times, the third round twice and the fourth round in 2022.

Beyond the on-court success, Thompson said the relationships built as he watched the school function at a “grassroots” level is something he’ll truly miss.

“These are the individuals, like your school nurses, your guidance counselors, your teacher assistants, just kind of really getting to understand the lay of the land in public schools,” Thompson said. “A lot of times at the college level, you don’t know that. And then the relationships I’ve been able to build with coaches throughout high school, different coaches, and also AAU, those are relationships now that I’m starting to reap the benefit from. It’s amazing how I have a lot of people that I may have impacted or known or grown a relationship, and now they’re starting to help me out, and it goes back to those relationships. I tell my players all the time, you never despise small beginnings; your small beginnings may one day be the big thing that gets you where you need to go.”

While Thompson has extensive experience as a college assistant coach, he transitions back to the college level as a first-time head coach at that level after eight years coaching high school basketball. While he admits that will be a big transition, he also feels the two levels are still quite similar.

“There’s going to be some different things for me to get adjusted to. … But at the end of the day, it’s still basketball,” Thompson said. “I’m not discrediting my jump from high school to college, it’s basketball. You still have to have a relationship, understanding your players, knowing everything about them at the end of the day, but then you’ve got to put together a program or a system that matches your players.”

He’ll take much of what he learned coaching high school basketball with him as he goes back to the college level, he said.

“I did have over 15 years of college experience, but I learned a lot of stuff here in high school. How to adjust based off the personnel you have. In college, you can recruit, but you still have to make adjustments at times. There is going to be a jump for me from high school to college; however, I’ve been preparing for this opportunity from day one, so I know I’m going to be ready for it, and then I’ll have a good staff around me that will help me in areas I might need some assistance in.”

The new job naturally means that Thompson, his wife and three children will relocate to the Winston-Salem area. For St. Pauls, that means that his oldest child, rising junior Tyson Thompson, is also leaving the boys basketball program.

A 6-foot-9 center who is already earning Division-I offers, Tyson Thompson averaged 12.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last season, and was 11th in the state with 3.2 blocks per contest. He was named Robeson County Defensive Player of the Year after each of the last two seasons.

He will now enroll at Winston-Salem Christian School.

“He’s really excited about it,” Corey Thompson said. “Of course, we’re all transitioning, so we’re just trying to figure things out, iron out the kinks and everything, and he’s ready to get to work. He’s excited, and I’m excited for him.”

Winston-Salem State and the surrounding community is, of course, a special place for the whole Thompson family. Corey’s wife, Kesi, also played basketball at the school, and the two met during their college years there.

As Thompson returns, he hopes the impact the university has had on him is something he can share with the player’s he’ll now coach for the Rams.

“It means the world to me, just because Winston-Salem State took a chance on me as a young student-athlete, not really knowing anything about my career or what I wanted to do,” Corey Thompson said. “That university taught me how to persevere, how to fight through things, and most importantly how to be the man I am today. Going back to my institution, I’m planning on doing the same thing, instilling the same values and principles that were taught to me, through the basketball program and also through the university.”

The start of any coaching tenure is a very busy time for that coach, but joining a program somewhat late in the offseason means it’s that much more hectic for Thompson and the Rams program. He’s hit the ground running, quite literally getting to work in mere minutes.

“Even after the press conference, I was already on the horn working and trying to talk to current players and recruits that committed to us,” Thompson said. “After the press conference is over with, on the way driving home, I’m already on the horn working. These first months, we’re on a time constraint, so we’re really working day in and day out to make sure we bring in the best kids to our program. It’s been a fun, joyous opportunity … and just rewarding, because at the end of the day, you know that these kids are going to come to your alma mater and they’re going to be able to play and help build a program.

As for the next steps at St. Pauls, Suggs admits the school’s next boys basketball coach will have a difficult task replacing a coach of Thompson’s caliber.

“You can’t really find a replacement for the kind of person that he is and the things that he’s done,” Suggs said. “We’re just trying to find somebody to come in and attempt to keep everything going in the direction we have it going.”