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Brooks Thompson, formerly the coach of Texas-San Antonio and an NBA player, died Thursday at age 45, UTSA confirmed. "The UTSA family is very saddened to learn that Brooks Thompson passed away on Thursday," athletic director Lynn Hickey said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Michelle, his daughters, Ryan Michelle, Brooke and Addison, and the rest of his family in this difficult time." Thompson had been hospitalized in critical condition with double organ failure in April. His condition improved enough that he was able to return home in May, but he developed sepsis soon after and had to be readmitted to the hospital, where he remained this week, according to the Tulsa World. Thompson was the coach of UTSA for 10 seasons until he was fired in March. He had a 133-178 record with the Roadrunners and helped lead them to the NCAA tournament in 2011, where they beat Alabama State in the First Four. He also helped UTSA transition into two new conferences, moving from the Southland to the WAC in 2012 and from the WAC to Conference USA in 2013. Thompson played briefly in the NBA. He was selected by the Orlando Magic with the No. 27 overall pick in the 1994 draft and saw time with five teams before leaving the league in 1998 and becoming an assistant at Oklahoma State, where he had played his college ball. "He was an excellent shooter and very knowledgeable," Richie Adubato, who coached Thompson as an assistant in Orlando, said on the team's website. "He was instant offense for us. We would run screens for him. Great attitude. Really understood the game. He was a great person." He also was an assistant at Southeastern Louisiana and Arizona State, as well as the head coach at Metro Christian Academy in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona.
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