Kansas may owe their 2008 national title to Isiah Thomas

If I were to tell you that the New York Knicks, while being headed up by Isiah Thomas, violated NBA bylaws by illegally working out potential draft picks, would you be surprised?

DePaul's Wilson Chandler and Dar Tucker, Notre Dame's Tory Jackson, Kentucky's Joe Crawford, and Baylor's Ekpe Udoh are the players that Adrian Wojnarowski mentions in the article.

The most interesting player mentioned, however, is former Kansas star Brandon Rush. Rush was all set to leave Kansas and enter the 2007 NBA Draft before he popped the acl in his right knee. The injury forced him to miss six months and pull out of the NBA Draft. Guess when he injured himself?

During one of the illegal workouts.


We all know the end of that story. Rush and company rolled through the competition, winning the national title when Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts could not hit a free throw down the stretch of the 2008 title game. If he hadn't injured his knee in the workout, Rush would have gone pro, and Kansas may not have won that title.

Bill Self should send Isiah Thomas a thank you card.

One other note from this article -- as you read on, Woj gets into the relationship between the guy running the workouts and an agent from Detroit. Hopefully, that agent didn't pay Rush's way to and from Atlanta (where the workouts were held) because Rush thought for sure he was going to be a pro.

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FIU to play UNC

Last week, we talked at length about how FIU was thinking about boycotting a pre-season tournament because of a change schedule makers made. Basically, they were supposed to play Ohio State, but the organizers changed things so that they would play UNC without telling or getting agreement from FIU.

The consensus seemed to be that FIU should just suck it up and play UNC, which just happens to be a nationally televised game against the defending champs.

Well, according to an ESPN report, they came to their senses and will play UNC. Anyone else glad that's over?

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Andy Katz on Florida International and the Gazelle Group

As we touched on yesterday, Florida International is threatening to pull out of a pre-season tournament run by the Gazelle Group (who runs a number of pre-season tournaments, including the Coaches vs. Cancer event that FIU is supposed to participate in) due to a scheduling change by the GG.

FIU was supposed to play Ohio State in their season opener, but it was changed to UNC because the GG, who is always looking to make a buck, wanted the intrigue of the reigning national champs kicking off their season in Isiah Thomas's debut as a college coach. On ESPN U.

So why would FIU, a mid-major program that undoubtedly would love the exposure, threaten to boycott the event?

Isiah Thomas and Pete Garcia on the day the coach was hired.
(photo credit: daylife)

Because the GG knows how to deal with people about as well as an ornery mule.

It makes sense. No one likes to get pushed around or bullied.

But Andy Katz emphasizes a point we made yesterday: this is a great opportunity for the Panthers. From his blog on the WWL:

FIU is getting three home games out of this event -- North Carolina Central (Nov. 20), James Madison (Nov. 22) and Murray State (Nov. 23). The Panthers have to play one road game -- as far as Gazelle is concerned, at North Carolina, not Ohio State.

A year ago, FIU was in the CBE Classic and played three home games (Cleveland State, Toledo and non-Division I West Georgia) and then played at Washington. So in two seasons, FIU -- I repeat, F-I-U -- received six home games and just two road games from the organizers. That's rather generous considering the Panthers haven't really done anything on the court to justify being a relevant figure on the college basketball map.

If FIU athletic director Pete Garcia follows through on his threat to break the contract and play someone else, he'll have a hard time finding three home games. The NCAA allows tournaments like the Coaches vs. Cancer to count four games as two. So FIU would have to find only two games to fill its schedule. But it's hard to believe teams are lining up to play at FIU's 5,000-seat arena, especially in September.

So FIU is getting three home games and the chance to play UNC on ESPN U when the national champs open up their season, and they are going to throw it all away over some hurt feelings?

Isiah Thomas has made a lot of mistakes in his post-NBA career. Let's hope he doesn't add another one to the list.

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Isiah Thomas to make his coaching debut against Ohio State ... uhh, I mean North Carolina

Take a look at this post. It is the Friday Morning Dump for July 10th. Look about two-thirds of the way down.

You see it? The link about Isiah Thomas and FIU opening the season against Ohio State?

No? Trust me, its there.

Now take a look at this. It is a press release from Tuesday afternoon stating that UNC released their basketball schedule, and that they will be opening their national title defense against FIU in Isiah Thomas's coaching debut.

Where will Isiah Thomas begin his Florida International coaching career.
(photo credit: ESPN)

Wait, what? Two coaching debuts?

Not exactly. You see, our old friends at the Gazelle Group are up to no good, as usual. You remember them, don't you? They are the guys that decided that tournaments shouldn't be a tournament. Long story short, last year they changed the format of a couple 16 team pre-season tournaments to ensure that the hosts of the four regional sites (the four major conference teams in each tournament) were guaranteed a trip to the semi-finals, regardless of the outcome of the first two rounds of play.

Why?

Bigger schools equal higher ratings and attendance. Higher ratings and attendance equals more money in their collective pocket.

The GG saw an opportunity this year. Pitting Isiah Thomas, an NBA hall of famer and borderline celebrity thanks to his tenure with the Knicks, in his debut as a collegiate coach against the reigning national champs as they kick off their season is a dream match-up and will easily pull better ratings (it is scheduled to be televised on ESPN U) than if he started off the year against the lowly Buckeyes.

The problem is, no one told FIU. Both Thomas and FIU athletic director Pete Garcia had no idea that they would be headed to Chapel Hill instead of Columbus until UNC released their schedule today.

"We knew nothing about this until the press release from North Carolina today," Garcia was quoted as saying. "We told (Gazelle) last week we would not change the game and had never agreed to this."

Thomas reiterated the same point to ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil.

"I had no idea," he said. "No one contacted me, our athletic director, no one. Maybe in 2010, 2011 we can play North Carolina, but not this year."

The issue doesn't necessarily seem to be the fact that FIU is playing UNC. Ohio State is a good team, but to play the defending national champs in their season opener on national television is exposure that any mid-major program would love to receive. From what Garcia has said, the more plausible explanation seems to be that FIU doesn't like the way that the GG has handled the situation; Garcia was quoted as saying that he felt "bullied" during the process.

And based on some of the things that Rick Giles of the GG has been quoted as saying, I don't really blame him.

• "I think once they sit down and take a look at everything and think about it, they'll do the right thing and go ahead and play Carolina."
• "If we let every team tell us who they want to play, we'd never get a field finalized."
• "They agreed to play either one. We talked to them two weeks ago and wanted them to play North Carolina. They said they'd prefer to play Ohio State and we understand that, but we want them to play North Carolina."
• "I would be stunned if Isiah Thomas' first act as a head coach was to break a contract."

From reading about the issue, the hang-up is that the contract that was signed said Ohio State or UNC, but that some kind of handshake agreement was reached in which the Panthers would play the Buckeyes. FIU seems like they are ready to boycott the event, which would only end up hurting the kids on the Panther team that would have a chance to play against a national powerhouse, whether it ends up being Ohio State or UNC.

I bet this issue could be solved with a simple phone call where the GG says "Hey, our bad. We screwed up. But this would be such a better match-up". We'll see if that happens.

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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.
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5/14 Some Links, Some News

Slow day in college hoops, which works out well for us because the internet is out (apparently RCN is just as terrible as Comcast). Anyway, just some news and notes to get you caught up on:

- So we may know why Isiah Thomas brushed off so many local kids: he is trying to get Born Ready aka Lance Stephenson and Latavious Williams, both top 20 recruits nationally, to come to FIU. Stephenson seems interested (although contrary to rumors, it seems like Arizona may still be a possibility), and Williams is expected to decide between Zeke, Memphis, Georgetown, and Kansas State soon.

- Greg Paulus will be heading home to play football at Syracuse. I wonder how Cuse fans will treat him. Wait, does Cuse football actually have fans?

- Deshawn Painter, a 6'9" forward from Hargrave Military Academy and a former Florida signee, has committed to NC State.

- Washington State coach Ken Bone has inked a seven year deal that will pay him $650,000 the first year. Continue reading...

How long will Zeke last at FIU?

Last week, we wrote about how Isiah Thomas got off on the wrong foot when dealing with high school coaches in Florida. Long story short, Chris Rozier, a kid who committed to FIU under their previous coach, was essentially dropped by Zeke without so much as a phone call.

This isn't that big of a deal, right? It is just one pissed off coach/player from the other end of the state. I mean, players go back on their commitments and LOI's all the time when a coaching change is made. As long as Thomas makes it known that he made a mistake in the way he handled the situation and keeps this incident from becoming a Florida HS coaches vs. Isiah Thomas battle royale, he has no problems, right?

Well, it appears as if Rozier wasn't the only recruit that was toyed around with by Thomas. From the NY Post:

in Orlando, Olympic High coach Mark Griseck was upset at how his player was treated by Thomas. Jamel Marshall signed a letter of intent to FIU in November. Marshall received a call from the FIU assistant, telling him Thomas wants him to sign a "release" form.

Two days later, Thomas finally called Griseck, who told him he should call Marshall directly. Thomas, finding out he was able to contact high schoolers that week, made the call then.

"My biggest complaint was not that he didn't want him, but he didn't call him," Griseck said.

Things turned out alright for Rozier (who signed with Jacksonville), but as of April 20th, Marshall was still trying to find a place to play. From the Orlando Sentinel:

Marshall is now considering Colgate, Eastern Kentucky, William & Mary and Northeastern, according to Mark Griseck, Olympia's coach.

And if that isn't enough, read the comments from our post last week. Terrance Beasley, a 6'5" wing from Pensacola high who had also committed to FIU, was turned away by Thomas.

So if you are keeping track, that is three players from three high schools in three completely different areas of the state (Pensacola, Jacksonville, and Orlando) that Thomas has tossed aside (apparently, Olympia High in Orlando, where Marshall played, is a powerhouse. They were the Florida's 6A runner-up and have five guys going D1 this year. That is exactly the kind of high school program you want to alienate).

Like I said last week, all Thomas needed to do was shake hands, smile, and politic his way through the high school coaches in the area, and there should have been no problem with him scooping up Florida HS ballers that had no business playing in the Sun Belt; the second tier of recruits, that otherwise would be headed to SEC and ACC schools to sit the bench for year or two before becoming productive role players.

Kids of that caliber could go to an FIU, play under Thomas, (hopefully) star there, and then utilize and network through Zeke's limitless NBA contacts. Using that exact line, how hard would it be to recruit?

I just hope that Marshall and Beasley land on their feet with a scholarship somewhere else. I'd hate to find out that they lost out on an opportunity to play D1 hoops because Isiah Thomas reneged on his predecessor's commitments.
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Isiah Thomas is already making friends, retracts scholarship offer to recruit

I liked the Isiah Thomas hiring at Florida International University when I first heard about it. For starters, the guy has been in and around the NBA, either as a player, coach, or in the front office, since 1981. He is a hall of fame point guard with two rings, and his previous job was the New York Knicks President of Basketball Operations. This does not exactly seem like the kind of guy that wants to hang around FIU for thirty years (which is probably a good thing).

While Thomas has been unsuccessful at just about every stop since his playing career ended, he is still Isiah Thomas.

How hard could it be for him to recruit at this level?

Think about it. The Sun Belt conference, which FIU plays in, is good (Western Kentucky was two points from making their second straight Sweet 16; in the last two seasons, Sun Belt teams have knocked off the likes of Kentucky, Alabama, Auburn, and USC) but is still thoroughly a mid-major (17th in the RPI in 2009).

Should it really be that difficult for Zeke to land a few high major recruits that fell through the cracks? I mean, its Isiah Thomas!! What point guard wouldn't want to play for him? Do you think that one year out of the NBA means he no longer has any contacts in the league?

FIU has not had a winning season since 1999-2000 (when they went all of 16-14), and I get the feeling what they are trying to do with this is to get the program back on its feet by hiring Thomas, who they hope will start winning immediately. And when he does and gets lured away by a bigger program, then they can go out and get a good coach who is, how shall I put this, more respectable.

Plus, he's coaching for free this year.

It looked so good on paper, but Thomas may be well on his way to blowing up this program as well (look at his wake - the CBA, the Indiana Pacers, the New York Knicks). Last week, Thomas retracted a scholarship offer to Chris Rozier, a Jacksonville, Florida, native who had committed to FIU's previous coaching staff.

Chris Rozier had his scholarhship offer withdrawn by Isiah Thomas.
(photo credit: Rivals)

To be fair, this goes the other way all the time (just look at how many players withdrew their commitments when John Calipari left Memphis). But as good as you are as a coach, being able to recruit might be the most important aspect. Landing local talent, especially when you are at a school like FIU that doesn't have the unlimited budget and the ability to recruit the entire country, and thus establishing relationships with the local high school coaches is probably the most important aspect of recruiting.

It doesn't seem as if Zeke is off to a great start with those Florida HS coaches. From Jacksonville.com:

Wolfson basketball coach Bruce Rosebrock was bothered by the way FIU handled Rozier's recruitment at the end.

"I think it could have been handled more professional, especially when you consider the people involved are supposed to be professionals," Rosebrock said. "I've gotten calls from several college coaches apologizing for the way that Chris was treated by FIU. They were apologizing for their profession."

A spokesman at FIU said Thomas was assembling his staff and was unavailable for comment.

Florida is a big state, and Jacksonville is a long way from Miami (345 miles away, it is akin to saying Jim Calhoun alienates local coaches if he spurns a player from a DC high school), but it is still in Florida. Word travels quickly through the coaching ranks, and establishing a bad relationship with one coach could be disastrous.

So will this turn out to be a poor decision by FIU?

Possibly. All Thomas needed to do was shake a few hands, land all the second tier talent in Florida (which there is a ton of), take FIU to a tournament or three, and he is off to some SEC school.

Two weeks into his tenure, and he already has an enemy at a Florida high school.

Nice work, Zeke.
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