Why Isiah Thomas Will Succeed at FIU

Considering how many times Florida International’s head coach Isiah Thomas has failed in the past, this is a risky prediction. It was a big shock when Thomas decided to become the new head coach at Florida International. He immediately brings a big name credibility that this school hasn’t had. Growing up as a fan of the Bad Boys in the early 90s, Thomas was definitely one of the most exciting players in the NBA to watch. He was the catalyst for those Detroit Pistons teams and I expect him to do the same as a college had coach. Today, Thomas received a verbal commitment from top-10 recruit Dominique Ferguson. [ESPN] The former Detroit Pistons point guard is already building the foundation at Florida International.

Ferguson was considering Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Indiana and UCLA. Should the NCAA be concerned that a top-10 recruit chose a school that finished 13-20 last season? Yes. For now, I will be naïve and believe Ferguson when he says that he chose FIU because of the respect he has for Thomas and his desire to play at the next level. The NBA experience that Thomas brings to the college game will pay off in the long run for FIU. If you want to play in the NBA, chances are you are going to pick the coach that was a Hall of Fame player instead of the coach that is 52 years old, balding and has never played a minute of professional basketball.

FIU won’t make a tournament run anytime in the near future, but if Thomas keeps recruiting top-tier players like Ferguson, I expect Thomas to lead FIU to an NCAA Tournament win sometime in the next three years. As much as I disagree with the one-and-done rule with college basketball players, that rule might be exactly what a small program like FIU needs if Thomas can get commitments from star players. I have heard many people rip Thomas for being a bad coach in the NBA.  He was a disaster with the New York Knicks, but people should remember that he made the playoffs three straight years with the Indiana Pacers.

A big difference between Thomas coaching in the NBA and Thomas coaching in college is the fact that he doesn’t have to worry about the salary cap. (Some coaches would argue that certain teams do have a salary cap.) Thomas had no idea how to manage salaries, but he did have a good eye for talent. Look at some of the players Thomas drafted: Tracy McGrady (Raptors), Wilson Chandler (Knicks), David Lee (Knicks), Trevor Ariza (Knicks) and Nate Robinson (Knicks). He did have some clunkers like Renaldo Balkman, but his track record is better than you realize. There is no fine line for Thomas at FIU. He is either going to get FIU on probation or turn them into a consistent winner and I am going to predict Thomas builds FIU into a winner.