Isiah Thomas is the new coach of the FIU Golden Panthers. Let that sink in for a second. The $11.5 million sexual harassment settlement man himself. Following a long, rich history of failed NBA coaches before him, Zeke is going to be a college coach. Things have worked out gloriously for some like former disgraced NBA coaches Rick Pitino and John Calipari, but does Thomas have the patience to put up with the constant immaturity of 18-22 year old student athletes? Can he even recruit? Will he be able to convince top basketball talent to go to a school that is known more for its fighting than it’s playing? Raise your hand if you can even name anyone who went to FIU.
I’ll give you a second…
Those that answered Raja Bell, you play way too much Fantasy Basketball.
Character is obviously not a precondition for getting a coaching job at FIU. The Golden Panthers also courted former Miami Heat and Golden State guard Tim Hardaway. Hardaway, of course, is remembered more for hating gay people than hitting a jump shot.
While this may be a great PR move and will get people talking about their program, can this stunt really last? Does anyone else think Isiah Thomas living in Miami is a bad idea? He couldn’t keep it in his pants in New York City. How in the world is he going to behave himself on South Beach?
I give it a year, two at most. For the fans and students at FIU, God Speed. Hopefully it doesn’t cost you as much to get out of this as it cost James Dolan and Madison Square Garden.
Tags: FIU, Isiah Thomas, NCAA Basketball
“Isiah Thomas is basketball’s anti-christ” - Coach K’s church ass just unloaded the shit from his pants.
at least he’s contained to a shit school. no point in ruining another storied franchise.
What about my man Carlos Arroyo!? Another undrafted, stand out FIU grad
Got some promise here, and the criticisms are certainly warranted. However, we will see ole Zeke be a far better coach and manager on the college level. You failed to mention how Thomas is a Hall of Famer, has 2 NBA rings (which you know will help him recruit) which he won back to back, 12 all-star appearances, MOP of the NCAA tourny, and hands down one of the best point guards to ever play the game. Lets cut him some slack and face it, its far easier to coach on the college level.
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But can he do it in a fake conference? At a fake school that no one in the city even cares about? At least Memphis has the support of all of Western Tennessee. Everyone in Miami is already a UM, FSU, UF, or UCF fan. How can you convince some stud PG to come down there when no one’s even going to pay attention?
A the end of that UM-FIU WWE Brawl, Lamar starts singing We Ready. Classic. FIU is full of rejects, the deserve this guy.
He should be a stud recruiter for one and done kids who aren’t 4 and 5 stars, plus FIU accepts kids with extracurricular incidents for regular admissions, basketball players with less than 2 murders on their rap sheet should be good to go.