Isiah Thomas lands a possible McDonald's All-American

A major factor in the hiring of Isiah Thomas at Florida International was that the school believed that Thomas would be able to attract high-major talent to the Sun Belt school.

Thomas was in the mix with both Latavious Williams and Lance Stephenson, but couldn't quite land either recruit.

But his persistence paid off.

Dominique Ferguson is a potential Mickey D's all-american. Rivals has the 6'9", 210 lb power forward rated as the 23rd best player in the class of 2010, while scout has him rated 9th. Formerly committed to Kentucky, Ferguson was also being recruited heavily by schools like UCLA, Arizona, Florida, and, well, basically everywhere.

What's the significance?

In case you haven't put it together yet, Ferguson has signed with FIU. The significance of this commitment shouldn't be downplayed. Guys that are ranked in the top 25 by any scouting service, let alone in the top 10, don't go to schools in the Sun Belt. Usually, they go to schools that are expected to compete for conference titles and Final Four trips; not mid-majors that rarely break .500.

Maybe the Isiah Thomas signing will work out for FIU after all.