Isiah Thomas Just Scored Dominique Ferguson!

[airowe]

Wow. Just heard this on Sportscenter. Don't have a link yet...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4383839

[BlueinBlo]

Seen it too. For some reason I don't think he will be playing there as a freshman. He committed too early.

[houstondukie]

I think this is good news for Duke. Ferguson's stock has been falling a bit this summer, and reading interviews w/ Ferguson, he comes across as a selfish player who wants to be the go-to-guy at the expense of team play.

“Even though it’s a smaller school, I just feel like it’s a better situation for me. It’ll be easier for him to build a team around me.” - Ferguson

[airowe]

Seen it too. For some reason I don't think he will be playing there as a freshman. He committed too early.

Pretty sure he's going to Hargrave first. That may explain the early commitment, although it's not THAT early.

Ferguson, who will attend Hargrave Military Academy this year, is a 6-foot-8 power forward who is equally comfortable on the arc as at the rim.

[SilkyJ]

Pretty incredible, but not totally shocking. I don't expect FIU to be a powerhouse anytime soon...or any time period...but won't be surprised if they make an NCAA tourney or two in the next several years. This certainly helps that cause.

[COYS]

I'll be mostly interested to see how Thomas works as a college coach. He has generally done a good job assessing talent . . . now dealing with egos, personalities, and locker-room chemistry has definitely been a problem.

[theAlaskanBear]

I am surprised to hear myself say this, but I think Thomas will be a very good college coach, in all honesty. He has proven to be a good evaluator of talent, and motivating and coaching in college is supremely different from coaching in the NBA. I think college hoops is the perfect place for Thomas. He really is a nice guy who knows basketball, and now he is coaching young players who respect and look up to him, rather than NBA stars.

[MChambers]

If Thomas has done a good job of assessing talent, why did he make so many bad trades and draft selections as a GM? I'm not trying to belittle your comments, but I would like to understand the basis for it. I always thought the keys to success as an NBA general manager would be to make as many trades as possible with Isaiah Thomas or the Cleveland Cavaliers when they were owned by Ted Steptien.

[SupaDave]

If Thomas has done a good job of assessing talent, why did he make so many bad trades and draft selections as a GM? I'm not trying to belittle your comments, but I would like to understand the basis for it. I always thought the keys to success as an NBA general manager would be to make as many trades as possible with Isaiah Thomas or the Cleveland Cavaliers when they were owned by Ted Steptien.

Compared to what the Knicks were doing before him - Ike did ok...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yor..._draft_history

Quite frankly, Allan Houston and a few other contracts is what truly hurt the Knicks. They have been maxed out for a while... Allan wasn't a bad signing at all (his shot is majestic) but he ended up with a fate similar to his former teammate Grant.

[Kedsy]

Compared to what the Knicks were doing before him - Ike did ok...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yor..._draft_history

Quite frankly, Allan Houston and a few other contracts is what truly hurt the Knicks. They have been maxed out for a while... Allan wasn't a bad signing at all (his shot is majestic) but he ended up with a fate similar to his former teammate Grant.

I usually agree with you, Supa, but Mr. Thomas was a bad NBA GM. His trade for Starbury was one of the worst in NBA history. He didn't appear to understand the NBA salary cap and seemed to think if he got the higher profile player he got the better of the deal, which was just plain wrong.

Having said all that, I think he'll do well at FIU, and probably as a college coach in general. He's got the credentials to impress recruits and motivate his players, and that's a large percentage of the struggle in college ball. Hopefully he's not just using FIU as a stepping stone, but even if he is, I think he'll do well there.

[miramar]

I don't know how good a college coach he will be, but it seems that he can certainly recruit. He got a bunch of big-time JC transfers for this year already, including one who scored 30 PPG and another 25 PPG. I don't know how they will play together, but it should be interesting:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4112915

He also has the #5 center for 2011, so he's doing very well for a guy who is working for free the first year:

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/co...y/1176277.html

[CameronBornAndBred]

I usually agree with you, Supa, but Mr. Thomas was a bad NBA GM.

I don't know if he was a bad GM or not, but he sure was a bad coach. To have talent like he did, and do so crappy a job with it should be a major flag to his recruits, but apparently it's not an issue. True, the college game and NBA game are different, and he will win games solely because he has better players. I think though that when faced with equal teams he will falter. I hope I'm wrong, I'd like to see him do well, and for FIU to make a name for itself. But I don't see it happening.

[natedog4ever]

Just be glad they didn't hire him to coach the woman's team.