Renascence

Isaiah Thomas’ career as coach is not as successful or glamorous as it was when he was a player. Don’t get the wrong idea, as a player Thomas is a hall of famer which means that to be equal as good as a coach he would have to be really, really good.

As a player Isaiah Thomas is one of the best Point Guards of all time. He is 2x NBA champion, 12x All Star and once Finals MVP. His Jersey (#11) was retired by the Detroit Pistons and he was nominated to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.

As a coach Thomas had highs and lows however the last impression is the one that stays which explains why he has such rejection. His first gig was with the Indiana Pacers replacing Larry Bird, in which he drove the team to the playoffs in all of three seasons he coached there but never passed the First Round and was replaced by Rick Carlisle. The New York Knicks then hired Thomas as President of Basketball Operations in what turned out to be one of the worst chapters in Knicks’ history. Thomas made a terrible job managing contracts and draft picks. You can argue, though, that Thomas did a good job drafting players with good talent and value that were under the radar like David Lee and Wilson Chandler. Thomas was fired before the beginning of last season when Donnie Walsh took his place.

Maybe the worst moment of Isaiah’s life happened last year when he had an overdose of sleep medications. The rumors were that Thomas may have tried to kill himself.

On April the 14^th, Thomas accepted the offer from Florida International University to become the Head Coach there. From a player that is a hall of famer and a coach that always have mentored on the professional level it may look like a step back and maybe it’s as a career stand point however it could be exactly what he needs to make his life move on. There’s no doubt that FIU offered him the job thinking about the publicity that he brings but for him it will be great to take all the pressure off his shoulder. Thomas will mentor a team that doesn’t have a winning season in 9 years, that doesn’t have the toughest schedule in the NCAA level, that doesn’t fight for highest graded recruits but also doesn’t play against them and that plays in a conference that doesn’t have any spotlight. Thomas may be able to find back and enjoy the game for what it is and not for what it is supposed to be. He already seems to have found some of this by donating the first year of his salary back to the school. He declared that he wasn’t there for the money. Everywhere he has been in this recruitment process, he seemed loose, calm and enjoying the whole process and maybe this new chapter in the book of his life.

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~ by Rafael Uehara on October 8, 2009.