Remember Game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals against Magic and Kareem, when little Isiah Thomas carried his Bad Boy Pistons on a severely sprained ankle to a near defeat and elimination of The Lake Show. The diminutive point guard scored an NBA Finals record 25 points in a single quarter! I wasn't old enough to remember it, but I've sure as hell seen enough video footage. Warrior, champion, tough as nails, the Baddest of the Bad Boys...all words and phrases that come to mind when one thinks of "Zeke."Now 20 years removed from those physically pulverizing Piston teams that so perfectly personified blue-collar Detroit, 47-year old Isiah Thomas assumed the reigns at lowly Florida International University. Of course, if you are waking up from a two-decade long coma, you may be saying to yourself, "Hey that's great, there's a guy helping his sport on a grassroots level." Well friend, you either need to go smoke some grass or insist the nurse give you another dose of life support.
With the conclusion of his Hall of Fame career in 1994, Thomas signed on as part owner and Executive Vice President of the expansion Toronto Raptors. A fallout with team management and indecision as to how to develop youngsters Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady ultimately led to his demise.
After a brief stint as lead game analyst alongside Bob Costas on the NBA on NBC, Zeke took over the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). After his purchase of the CBA for $5 million, the league was forced into bankruptcy and folded after Thomas rejected an offer from the NBA for $11 million to make it an official minor league of the NBA. Many CBA managers blamed Thomas for the league's failure, citing mismanagement and out-of-control spending on his part. Many such managers publicly declared that Thomas ran the league into the ground, possibly on purpose to eliminate the non-NBA-owned minor league in order to make room for the NBA-owned NBDL.
Thomas eagerly returned to Indiana (where he starred in college under Bobby Knight) to coach the Pacers. Though he guided them to three straight playoff berths, he could not continue the success that former coach Larry Bird had laid the groundwork for with an appearance in the NBA Finals the year previous. Once again, Thomas would be criticized for not developing young, talented players like Ron Artest, Jamaal Tinsley and Jermaine O'Neal. A third and final first round exit, this time to the lower seeded Boston Celtics, would be all the Pacers brass needed to show Zeke the door.
I wish I could say that Isiah took his lumps and road off into the sunset at this point, but needless to say his post-playing career hit an all-time low in a city that never allows its sportsmen to forget their shortcomings. First as President of Basketball Operations and then as coach of the New York Knickerbockers, Thomas proved that futility has no bounds. The Larry Brown debacle, public arguments with Starbury, his alleged demands to commit a hard foul in the paint which led to a brawl with the Nuggets and his eventually falling out with owner James Dolan were all back-page fodder for the Daily News and NY Post. Lest we forget his MSG sexual harassment lawsuit or the constant allegations of racist remarks to staffers of the World's Most Famous Arena.
With his "New York state of mind" behind him, Thomas' life hit the depths of despair in October of 2008 when in an apparent suicide attempt, he overdosed on sleeping pills. Thomas has maintained it was not an attempt on his life and instead claimed it was his daughter who was taken to White Plains Hospital Center.
Suffice it to say, not even fellow Bad Boy and walking train-wreck Dennis "The Worm" Rodman knows self-destruction like this.
And so yesterday, under warm Florida skies, Isiah "Zeke" Thomas was introduced as head coach of the Golden Panthers. Unfortunately, even this latest endeavor appears to be headed for disaster.....
I'm at a loss for words as to how the FIU administration, who clearly hired Isiah because of his name, could so badly screw up that very entity when introducing him.
I suppose all is not lost though as Thomas declared he would coach his first season for free after learning of the economic hardships currently faced by the university. Certainly a nice gesture, but one that shouldn't be completed exulted as the Knicks still owe him $12 million over the next two years!! Heck, I'd flip burgers all day for free if you payed me the salary of an executive at EXXON or AIG!
And so while we wait to see what demon will doom Isiah next, I'll be busy pondering what his former teammates are thinking of their old comrade. Former backcourt mate Joe Dumars continues to have a great run as President of Basketball Operations with the Pistons, Bill Laimbeer has attained three championships in six years as head coach of the Detriot Shock, even John "The Spider" Salley has gained respectability as a talk show host on The Best Damn Sports Show Period.
The Lakers of course went on to win Game 7 as well of The Finals in 1988....one can only imagine how heartbroken Thomas must have been after sacrificing his personal well being to attain the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Now, many of us don't feel heartbroken for Thomas, we just pity him as one of the most dramatic falls from grace continues before our very eyes.
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