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Thomas Looks Forward To First Season With FIU
By Solange Reyner
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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MIAMI - APRIL 15: Isiah Thomas talks to the media after he was introduced as the new head coach for Florida International Univeristy men's basketball team at U.S.Century Bank Arena on April 15, 2009 in Miami, Florida.
Doug Benc/Getty Images
Isiah Thomas was back on the court Saturday, smiling and carefree with his new team in Miami. The former New York Knicks coach has been given the task of rebuilding a team that went 13-20 last season, a task that he's happy to take on.
"Today is here, I'm prepared for it and I'm ready for it," Thomas said.
"I'm very excited."
So is everyone else. There's been a reported 166 percent increase in ticket sales since FIU started selling them, and top recruits have shown interest in the small-time Division I program.
Thomas has already secured commitments from Georgia point guard Phil Taylor and forward Dominique Ferguson, a highly touted forward from Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia.
While Thomas is uncertain about the talent he has on his current roster, the former NBA Hall of Fame player knows that he has a proven scorer in Marvin Roberts, a junior college transfer who led the nation in scoring in that division last year.
Roberts, and seven others on the 14-player roster, transferred solely to play for Thomas. That includes Temple University transfer guard Martavis Kee, a former Broward County Player of the Year.
Saturday's practice wasn't meant for offense, and Thomas got involved while showing his new squad how to play defense. He was in Antoine Watson's ear down the sidelines when he and Marlon Bright were guarding each other and told Roberts to move in closer on another player during the same drill.
"Defense will be our staple," Thomas said.
"We're very small so we'll have to depend on our scrappiness and tenacity. Here in college it's just a matter of expanding on the things that they've already done. My job right now is to teach and then observe then try to piece it all together."
Far from Madison Square Garden and a hoopla of issues up north, Thomas looked like he was at ease in his new gig. He hasn't quite adjusted to the South Florida heat yet, and that seems to be the least of his concerns in Miami.
"It's hot and I love it," Thomas said.
The story was much different a year ago and Thomas' hiring in April was a win-win situation for both the University and the former NBA star.
FIU got the national attention it sought and Thomas got away from his very public issues in New York.
His coaching tenure with the Knicks was rocky, and led to his accidental overdose of sleeping pills last fall. He had public spats with players and was reassigned as a consultant after finishing with a record of 56-108 after two seasons. In the middle of the latter season, a federal jury determined that he sexually harassed former executive Anucha Brown Sanders.
With a fresh start, his goal at FIU is to do what he did while coaching the Indiana Pacers: win games.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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