Isiah Thomas is coaching again.

[shadowgrin]

At Florida International University

Thomas is back in coaching, accepting an offer from FIU to revive his career and their program.

Ending a whirlwind courtship, Thomas and FIU agreed on a five-year contract Tuesday—an out-of-nowhere deal that gives the former Knicks coach and president a chance to restore the reputation he built as a Hall of Fame player and tarnished through a series of embarrassments in New York.

“I’m committed to growing something here, and strongly believe that over time, we’ll put a team on the floor that everyone at FIU can be proud of,” Thomas said.

Marbury, whose time with the Knicks also was rocky, offered little reaction over Thomas’ new job.

“Good for him,” Marbury said before his Boston Celtics played the Philadelphia 76ers.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh, who fired Thomas as New York’s coach, wished him luck at FIU.

“I think it’s a great thing for him and it’s kind of what I wanted for him from the day I let him go,” Walsh said.

Thomas will face some immediate challenges: FIU went 13-20 this past season, its third 20-loss campaign in four years, and has not posted a winning record since 1999-2000. He’ll need to move quickly on filling some roster slots, since the spring signing period for Division I players starts Wednesday.

Miami Heat center Jermaine O’Neal, who played for Thomas at Indiana, said the coach deserved a new opportunity.

“He’s a motivator and a teacher and he has some skills that really fit the college level,” O’Neal said. “He can take people and make them feel like they have a chance to be anything they want in life.”

Wood Selig, the athletic director at Western Kentucky, said he was “shocked.”

“It is quite a coup for FIU,” Selig said.

[Andrew]

Adrian Wojnarowski is already predicting disaster. Best of luck to him and all, but his career as an executive and coach hasn't been nearly as successful as his playing career and it seems to be more of the same at each stop, so I don't know about it being a major coup.

[Modifly]

I wish him luck, hopefully he wont screw up again.

[Cartar]

[Andrew]

You've gotta love just how pleased with himself he looks in the last frame.

[Jeffx]

Good riddance, Zeke. Don't let the door hit your punk ass on the way out. Go run another team into the ground like you did my Knicks, bitch.

[Sauru]

"Thomas is back in coaching, accepting an offer from FIU to revive his career and their program."


right off the bat i have to laugh, how the hell can anyone expect isiah to revive thier program? i mean seriously? whoever hired him needs to be fired, if they have assistants they need to be fired. infact everyone there needs to be fired and they should just blow the place up

[benji]

Maybe that's what they want to do, and why they hired him?

[Sauru]

good point, if thats thier ultimate goal then i say this is a great move