Reactions from college coaches to Isiah Thomas

Writers, bloggers, and Knicks fans aren't the only ones that don't like the hiring of Isiah Thomas as a consultant for the New York Knicks.

Coaches disagree with it as well. Here's a quick look at some of the reaction college coaches have had:

Jim Boeheim, Syracuse: "It's a conflict [of interest] either way, from college or from the NBA, I just don't understand why it wouldn't be. You know, you're a college coach involved with kids and the NBA wants your players or evaluations of your players. It seems like it's kind of a conflict a little bit that you're coaching kids and then recommending them to pro guys.

"Pro guys come in to me all the time to talk about my players. Well, if I'm a consultant for one team, I guess I would feel like I couldn't do that. I wouldn't be able to help my own kids...It just doesn't seem right.

"It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense that the NBA would allow that, even more so than college. That's an NBA issue, it's not a college issue."


Mike Kzyzrewski, Duke: "I don't think that's good. I wouldn't want that and I don't think the NBA would want it. I mean, somehow then we could see all the college kids all the time.

"Have we served as consultants to the pros? Yeah, people call us before the draft, 'What do you think of this? What do you think of that? I think it's better to have it like that, where it's not a particular team. If the Warriors call you, you can tell them. If the Knicks call you, you can tell them. And we're not showing any favoritism to anything, so it just seems like it should be separate."


Ronnie Arrow, South Alabama: "I just can't believe that the N.C.A.A. would okay him to be able to have dual roles, or dual positions, that I think would help one in recruiting.

"He can get in to just about any player and be able to talk to him ... go into a home and say, by the way, I'm also connected with the Knicks and I can guarantee you that you’ll be able to be looked at by the Knicks.

"Any big name coach, whether it be Coach Pitino or Coach Calipari, that now wants to go on and be a consultant for the N.B.A., I just think it's opening up a can of worms."


There is now ample reason to believe that Isiah Thomas won't be allowed to accept this job, which is probably a good thing. If there has been a theme to this summer in collegiate athletics, it has been agents and amateurism issues. If we are trying to clean up the sport, how does it make sense to allow college coaches to essentially align themselves with an NBA team?

Seriously, if this is allowed to stand, think about the consequences. If I'm Frank Haith, I immediately apply for a job as a "consultant" with the Miami Heat. What high school superstar with aspirations of making the NBA wouldn't want to go play for a school that has an in with the team that currently has LeBron, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh?

Isiah Thomas is the coach at FIU, a Sun Belt team that won seven games last season. He could be the GM for the Knicks, and there still won't be an enormous impact on the overall power structure in college basketball. Are top recruits really going to waste a chance to play in the ACC or the Big East or for Bill Self or Tom Izzo just to spend a few years under Isiah Thomas and give themselves a slightly increased chance to get drafted by the Knicks, who are turning into the Clippers of the East?

No, that's unrealistic.

But its the precedent that matters.

Like Arrow said, if a guy like John Calipari becomes a "consultant" somewhere, recruiting won't even matter. Cal will just be able to browse the top 25 recruiting lists and make his picks.

How about we just keep Pandora's Box closed, mmk?