The sun was shining, and the weather was sweet. There was plenty of warmth and a cool breeze that blew by from time to time. People were finally in shorts, donning them after their five-month sabbatical in the bureau. Yes, spring was finally in the air this past Wednesday. And with the spring came baseball; with baseball came the Yankees; and with the Yankees came early Cy Young favorite A.J. Burnett (told you so). With America's pastime always comes not only the highly anticipated NBA playoffs (set to kick off next week), but the NHL postseason as well, featuring the Bruins and Canadiens once again in perhaps the best, most unappreciated rivalry in sports where the 1 and 8 seeds couldn't be more meaningless. Habby birthday to us, eh?
Yup, the tides had certainly turned, and life was looking brighter, cheerier, and positively upward. That was Wednesday morning as I was putting in my earbuds at the gym before a quick run on the old treadmill. And perhaps the only buzz-kill worse than that of Rachael Ray was what I witnessed on SportsCenter moments after changing the channel from the 40-year-old's magical cooking show. As I began to run, I kept my focus on the screen, highlights of last night's baseball and basketball games, and the 4-4 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool that sent the Blues through to the Champions League Semis flickering before my buoyant self; I was happy and healthy all at once. Then I saw him, and everything changed.
He stared back at me in that same insouciant, reassuring manner I was so used to, his radiant smile gleaming from ear to ear like it had for the last five years of my life, and though his words were inaudible to me, his hubris still shone through eminently. And had I been less mature, I would have felt myself being hypnotized into his seductive trance; I would have believed his promises, what lay ahead in the future, and known that he would make everything all right. But just before I was vacuumed back in by his jaunty façade, I caught myself. This man was something that he was not; this man was a mirage. This was a man whose charm and intrigue were both complete affectations. This was a man whose duplicity and hollowness had once fooled me and thousands of others into trusting him. This was a man who had burned so much more than bridges, who had now made an unexpected and inconvenient return into my life. This man was Isiah Thomas.
The former Knick executive and head coach had his latest headline hanging below his belying countenance that was as confusing as it was terrifying: Thomas named head coach of Florida International University Men's Basketball Team. Here we go again.
When Donnie Walsh came on board as the Knicks' new President of Basketball Operations last spring, not only did he personally replace Thomas in the front office, but he waited for the former Pistons legend to finish off a franchise worst 59-loss season before firing him as head coach despite his remarkable 56-108 record over two years. The last I'd heard, Walsh had allowed Thomas to stay on staff as a scout, sending him to Italy to seek out unknown talent, which, of course, was code for, "Stay the hell away from my basketball team." And now, leaving Tuscany as merely an afterthought, Zeke is indubitably the next head coach of the FIU Golden Panthers.
Just in case you need to refresh your memory on FIU Men's Basketball, let me tell you a little about the storied program: They play in the infamous Sun Belt Conference, competing against powerhouses Middle Tennessee St., North Texas, and South Alabama (Western Kentucky, too). The Golden Panthers finished 13-20 overall last year (7-11 in the conference; good for fourth in thee East division), and have not had a winning record since 1999-2000. They have a distinguished class of alumni that include and are limited to Raja Bell and Carlos Arroyo, and haven't made the NCAA tournament since 1995. Considering Thomas' impressive record with the Knicks, FIU just might be a perfect fit.
For Athletic Director Pete Garcia, reeling in the big fish that is Thomas to head up an ambiguous basketball program seems to be an innocuous a move as any. For one, he gets a coach, who, despite his more recent failures, has had success in the past with the Indiana Pacers, guiding them to the playoffs each full year in charge from 2000 to 2003. Also, Garcia will be happy to know that most sports fans around the country have now heard of Florida International University, since Thomas' appointment effectively puts the Golden Panthers on the map...but at what expense?
This is the same Isiah Thomas who purchased the Continental Basketball Association back in 1998, and drove it into the ground within three years with his haphazard spending and severe mismanagement of the now defunct league.
This is the same Isiah Thomas, who, at the end of a game two years ago against the Denver Nuggets, could be seen mouthing to Carmelo Anthony from the sideline, "Do not go to the hoop right now" with his trademark smirk that ensued, only seconds later to watch as Anthony's teammate J.R. Smith drove to the hoop only to be mauled by Knicks guard Mardy Collins, which sparked an all-out brawl, which may or may not have been instigated firstly by Thomas himself.
This is the same Isiah Thomas who was found guilty in a sexual harassment suit by a co-worker at Madison Square Garden, who claimed that the Knicks head coach had made sexual advances toward her, and repeatedly told the woman that he loved her, which resulted in the victim being awarded $11.6 million in the lawsuit.
This is the same Isiah Thomas who is the new sheriff in town at FIU, and who Garcia was referring to when he told the press on Monday that "...we are getting a great human being." The term destroyer might be slightly more accurate.
Thomas sat in front of the flashing cameras Monday afternoon on FIU's campus, his perfunctory grin scintillating, and soothing voice declaring that he enjoys challenges, especially taking something from the bottom and building it to the top, a tune I remember hearing once before. The world of recruiting now awaits him, a whole new arena for him to imbue his players with deceit and false promises. But even if you still don't trust Thomas—which surely I do not—it's difficult to slander his constant and unwaveringly positive attitude. And if Thomas' atypically magnanimous decision to donate his entire first year's salary to FIU's Athletic Department is any indication that he has turned a corner (and I really hope that he has for his sake; not only on the basketball court, but also behind the scenes where it matters more) then maybe there's a reason to believe in Isiah Thomas one more time. That, and we Knicks fans would really appreciate an apology.