Zeke’s return

Having finished his initial regular season as the head coach at Florida International University Feb. 13 with an 81-78 loss at Troy, former Detroit Piston Isiah Thomas has definitely taken the road less traveled on his journey toward basketball redemption, assuming the reigns of a program that had an average attendance of 1,163 during the team’s 10 home games this year. At 7-21 overall, 4-11 Sun Belt Conference, things could’ve been even worse for Zeke had it not been for the valiant efforts of 6-foot- 5 junior forward Marvin Roberts, who led the Golden Panthers in 10 different offensive categories, including points (452), blocks (17) and free throws (89-for-130).

While Thomas was a two-time National Basketball Association champion with the Pistons in 1988-89 and 1989-90, as well as the only head coach

to ever come close to

duplicating Chuck Daly’s

“Bad Boy” stylings with the Indiana Pacers from 2000- 03, that’s not what people remember about the greatest point guard ever to grace a Detroit hardwood. Never mind the fact he drafted Damon Stoudamire, Tracy McGrady and Marcus Camby in Toronto, as well as Trevor Ariza, David Lee, Channing Frye and Wilson Chandler for the Knicks, it’s the perception of who people think Zeke is as a person that’s most often discussed.

Even long time friend Magic Johnson seems to have issues with the Chicago native’s true colors, a fact of life that started carrying a lot more weight after Anucha Browne Sanders won an $11.6 million sexual harrasment suit against Thomas and Madison Square Gardens in 2007. While the judgement was one of the largest of its kind in history, Sander’s accusations included claims that Zeke repeatedly told her that he was in love with her and that he endorsed hugging and kissing between coworkers, behavior that would’ve made for quite an uncomfortable locker room experience during his playing days.

When Thomas was then accused by Harrison Police Chief David Hall of misdirecting his Oct., 2008 sleeping pill overdose onto his 17-year-old daughter to deflect attention from himself, the point guard was villified as a public enemy, doomed to forever re-live his 1992 Olympic team snubbing over and over like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day.

Don’t get me wrong, the man is definitely flawed. Anyone that sees Zach Randolph or Eddie Curry as anything but a modern day Darryl Dawkins (AKA “Chocolate Thunder”) is broken by definition, but Zeke does recognize unrefined talent, an attribute Joe Dumars could probably use after barely surviving international waters filled with euro-trash draft picks like Darko Milicic, Zelko Rebracha, Andreas Glyniadkis and Carlos Delfino.

The problems Isiah had here in Detroit stemmed from his unhappiness with Bill Davidson and the role he was given with the team upon retirement, one sleeping dog that could simply never be awakened now that Mr. D has passed and the team’s eventual and inevitable sale is finally taking flight. With Pistons’ head scout Will Robinson also passing in 2008 at the age of 96, the scene’s been set for Zeke’s return, and anyone who thinks otherwise needs to explain where Aaron Afflalo is, and why.

Despite concluding 2010 with a five-game losing streak, including a 69-65 defeat at South Alabama on Feb. 11, FIU did win nearly half of its home games. It was enemy territory that showered Zeke and the Golden Panthers in befuddlement, going 3-15 before an average attendance of 3,282. Now that Thomas begins the process of identifying and recruiting the next Carlos Arroyo, FIU’s all time assist leader with 459, perhaps his 187-223 NBA career coaching record will finally seem like the blessing of experience that it is instead of the fall from grace its been made out to be.