Isiah Thomas Mini-Interview






By Ray Floriani / Dec. 6, 2004
Isiah Thomas spent his playing days as an outstanding point guard on the high school, college and NBA level. He was the quintessential leader who could direct a team and make things happen on the floor.

After his playing days, Thomas has shown those same take-charge abilities in coaching and administration.

When he assumed his position as President of the New York Knicks last December, Thomas wasted no time in making changes. He brought in Stephon Marbury, Nazr Mohammed, Tim Thomas, Jamal Crawford, Jerome Williams, Vin Baker and coach Lenny Wilkens. As a result the Knicks last Spring made the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Thomas was at Continental Airlines Arena on Saturday for the Texas vs. Seton Hall game. At halftime he graciously spent some time with InsideHoops.com discussing the game in general and giving his insight on a few specifics.

Insidehoops.com : How would you assess your first year in New York?

Isiah Thomas : “I think we are on schedule in terms of where we are. At first I didn’t know how we would be successful. We decided to either try trades or just go with older players. If you do that and let contracts expire you can be in the lottery for about four or five years and expect your fans to be patient. We decided to go the way of trading and getting younger players.”

Insidehoops.com : You have experienced the New York fans as a player, coach and now management. How can you characterize them?

Isiah Thomas : “One word is passion. They are passionate about their team. We win we’re great, lose and we’re the worst. But you can’t overreact to the fans (reactions).

Insidehoops.com : What traits or abilities do you look for in a college player hoping to play in the NBA?

Isiah Thomas : The ability to play 94 feet on all areas of the court. The ability to play inside and outside and make good decisions. I want to see if the player communicates with his teammates and how he responds to coaching. Another thing to remember is players’ bodies can develop better than their skills.

Insidhoops.com : What is the greater challenge in the NBA, coaching or management?

Isiah Thomas : Playing is definitely harder than those two.

Insidehoops.com : What differences have you seem in the NBA from the days you played as contrasted to today?

Isiah Thomas : The biggest difference is in the leadership. It was better for us. We had more coaches and mentors to help us. A lot of the younger players today suffer from a lack of direction.


I like how he used his car salesman skillz to avoid which is harder coaching or being in Management. ROFL

what I want to know is who he was scouting

I think he is scouting LaMarcus Aldridge.

http://schoolsports.scout.com/2/266107.html


Strengths: He’s a multi-talented power forward who can score in the post, handle the ball and shoot it from the perimeter, earning him comparisons with Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh, another skinny big man from Texas. Aldridge is also extremely long and athletic, making him an excellent rebounder and shot blocker. He has the skills to play either forward spot down the road in the NBA.

Weaknesses: He’s extremely thin and isn’t yet ready for the physical nature and toughness of the pro game. He also didn’t play well in postseason all-star games, which caused his stock to drop. In the NBA, he doesn’t yet have the quickness to play on the perimeter, nor does he have the strength to play inside.

Isiah Thomas : The ability to play 94 feet on all areas of the court. The ability to play inside and outside and make good decisions. I want to see if the player communicates with his teammates and how he responds to coaching. Another thing to remember is players’ bodies can develop better than their skills.

Sounds like IT's kind of guy that plays for Texas.

i disagree with the body stuff for the most part.

NBA drafting criteria should be

A. HAS an NBA body--ready to go
B Has elite NBA athletiscm with solid/high skills
C Has either a combination of superior skills and just fine athletiscm
D Has shown the ability to play with intensity on both ends, has shown a great deal of mental toughness
E. Character and work ethic, shown to be a leader in college
F Draft BIG to small in almost any case unless there is extreme circumstance.


If we look at Trevor Ariza--he would fall into part of category B[elite athletiscm] and has shown signs of D and E. Trevor not only has a lot of work to do on his body, but he also needs to learn how to dribble and shoot. he has a great unerstanding of the game, but until he improves those skills quite a bit, he will what he is, a raw talent.

Briggs... didnt you mention Wayne Simien? Trying to remember why I have him on my radar (aside from averaging 18/13)

???

Briggs' comment got stuffed in the middle.

all of those guys would fit into superior skills fine athletiscm tough minded two way players for the most part big time winners in tough programs

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by fishmike:

???

Briggs was speechless

You live for the smallest things.

Once again, keep that tongue in your mouth.

Posted by MaTT4281:

Nalod, maybe you and Bonn should just have your own thread for these little moments. Save the rest of us from the images .

After a few light hits back and forth, Nalod ran away from the last fight. (His final reply was something like "whatever" preceded by simple "confusion") He's not worth the time any more. I wouldn't pick a boxing match with someone who will run away crying after the first punch. I'm sure you guys will be glad to know that unless he gets way out of line, I'm not going to respond to his baiting.