Isiah gets off on the wrong foot

[alh1020]

Oh, Isiah. Looks like the honeymoon, or whatever it was, might be ending for Isiah Thomas at Florida International University. Thomas, the school's new basketball coach, has found his mega-watt smile and charm might not smooth things over with some seriously ticked-off Sunshine State high school coaches.

Thomas decided to rescind three scholarship offers made to recruits by previous coach Sergio Ruoco. Unfortunately, he didn't bother to tell the kids. He made assistants call the players and break their hearts. This shouldn't be too shocking, given Thomas' train-wreck coaching and management history. Rules, mores, class and common sense have been omitted from his playbook for a while.

The recruits, such as 6-foot-4 small forward Jamel Marshall of Orlando-area Olympia High, had signed national letters-of-intent with FIU and assumed they were good to go. Sorry. Mark Greiseck, Marshall City's coach, called Thomas' move "gutless" in the Orlando Sentinel.

Another coach, Bruce Rosebrock of Jacksonville Wolfson High, also had Thomas -- through a flunky -- renege on one of his players. The students will be released from their scholarships, letting them go to another school without NCAA penalties for transferring. But at this late point, scholarships are slim pickings. "I hope in the future we have a player (Thomas) wants, because he won't get them," Rosebrock said. "The door at Wolfson is closed to him. This was handled about as badly as you can do it." Thomas, through intermediaries, believed he could not have contact with the players because he would violate NCAA rules. Thomas later called the kids to apologize, well after things escalated from hurt to anger.

But this actually reveals how much Thomas has to learn.

It's a time of the year when coaches can speak to athletes without penalty.
Stay classy, Isiah.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090...05040357/1127/

[Dasher]

Well there goes the NCAA.

[wu_aphex]

What a pathetic joke. Isiah Thomas should come with a surgeon general's warning:

WARNING: Bringing this person into your organization has a 100% chance of causing cancer, headaches, and years of fan suffering.

[JTD]

How does this guy still have a job in sports!

[flox]

Isiah did nothing wrong. Stupid Pistons paper hating.

[Flipmode Master]

I dont know...this is unfortunate..but what is the normal thing to do in these situations. Previous coaches accept players then get fired..does that mean the NEW coach HAS to pick them up? Never thought about it..wonder what is the norm in those situations? Feel bad for the guys that dont have a school to fall back on.