I Love to hate Isiah............
Pretty good article actually.
Isiah Thomas: Still Causing Panic and Confusion
Posted on May 30, 2012 by AC
Early last month the head coach of Florida International University was fired after posting a disappointing 26-65 record. Normally the dismissal of college coach who won less than 30% of his games at a school with one NCAA appearance in its history shouldn’t cause a ripple in NBA circles. Except that the former FIU coach is Isiah Lord Thomas, III and a week ago he indicated that he would like to return to the NCAA or NBA as a coach or general manager. It goes without saying that Jimmy Dolan has an affinity for Thomas, so fear of Isiah returning to the Knicks is warranted. More scary is that Thomas’ former college teammates, Glen Grunwald and Mike Woodson recently had their interim tags removed. Says Thomas, “I have great friends in the [Knicks] organization. A lot of them I gave them their first job opportunities in the NBA. The owner and I have a very good relationship.” He want on to say that he also has numerous photos of Dolan drinking blood with Voldemort at the House of the Undying to use as blackmail.
On the real, this is probably an elevated threat level. I can envision the Knicks doing well in the upcoming draft (see Draft Preview Parts I, II, and III). Followed by Stephen A. Smith ”reporting” in midseason that Thomas was influential in the Knicks choice of the precocious neophyte/s. Dolan will then stop playing with Cerberus long enough to bring Thomas officially back as a consultant, advanced scout, or special assistant coach. Actually, I’m raising the threat level to high. Time to panic, stock up on batteries, and think about rooting for another team.
While Thomas’ interview caused grave concern, he also managed to confuse the **** out of me. In the interview he says, “Even Coach (Bobby) Knight and Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), they have people who love them and they definitely have their detractors. At the end of the day, they’ve won more than they’ve lost. At the end of the day, I’ve won more than I’ve lost.” Pump those breaks. Winning games at a .285 clip at FIU and then comparing yourself to the two winningest coaches in Division I history is pretty delusional. Ronnie Arrow and Joe Scott would have been better comparisons. Never heard of them? Until now, me either. Both managed to win more than 50% of their games last year in the same Sun Belt conference that FIU plays in. Neither coach is getting a whiff of the NBA and has little in common with Coach K or Knight.
Isiah also seems to have forgotten that he has lost more than he has won as a coach. His 26-65 record at FIU is preceded by a 187-223 record as an NBA coach. He did once win 48 games with the Pacers, but was replaced by Rick Carlisle who won 61 games the following year. Add it all up and his coaching record in NCAA and NBA is 213-288. Under .500, but not bad when you compare it to his 193-363 record as a front office executive with the Raptors and Knicks (for two seasons he was both coach and head of the Knicks front office). Combined his record as a coach or executive at both levels is 350-543, for a stellar .392 winning percentage. That also doesn’t account for the Contintental Basketball Association or Anucha Browne Sanders.
I’ll give Thomas the benefit of the doubt and include his 674-505 (including postseason) record as a Piston and 47-17 record (including NCAA tournament) at Indiana. That gives him 1,071 wins and 1,065 losses. It should only take him a couple of weeks at his next job to get under .500. After that he is going have to start counting high school basketball, board games with his family, and staring contests with Dolan.
5/30/2012 12:20 AM
