Most people know Isiah Thomas as one of the more controversial superstars in the NBA’s history. The main man of the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons, Thomas led his team to multiple championships and delayed Michael Jordan’s ascendance to GOAT status in the process. Thomas’ skill was undeniable though, there’s a reason he was able to achieve all the success that he did.
Growing up in the West Side of Chicago, Isiah Thomas played at St. Joseph High School, and he led his team to the State Finals during his junior year. So it stands to reason that Isiah was highly coveted as a college prospect as he prepared to leave high school. And in conversation with Channing Frye, Zeke shared some of the wilder stories of his recruiting process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6ktA-CymXM
“We got offered all kinds of things. And this one college coach came to our house, opened up a briefcase, and said, ‘Hey there’s $50,000 here. If your son comes to this college, you’ll get $50,000.’ Now, Channing, we had never seen $50,000 before in our life. As far as we know, it could have been only a $1,000 in that briefcase.”
This was quite an illegal move from whoever was pulling it and it’s no surprise that Thomas’ parents didn’t let him choose that. He went on to play at Indiana University for the Hoosiers under legendary Head Coach Bob Knight. And how that meeting went is another wild story within itself.
Isiah Thomas Told The Wild Story Of How His Brother Nearly Fought Bob Knight
Bob Knight is a legendary name in the basketball world. Throughout his career, he was known for winning and for his tough and disciplined style of running his teams. His candid conversation convinced Zeke’s mother, but his siblings were a different matter.
“Now the conversation gets serious… What’s it going to be like in Indiana. My mom asks Coach Knight a serious question, she says, ‘The Klan is in Martinsville, Indiana. If my son gets into some type of issues, who’s going to protect him?’ He said, ‘Well, if we’re winning, Mrs. Thomas, the Klan will protect him.’ My brother didn’t take it as a joke… So now, my brother is lit, he’s ready to fight. And then he said, ‘If you wanna do something, we can take it outside.’ And I’ll never forget, Coach Knight got up, took his jacket off, rolled up his sleeves, and said, ‘Yeah, we can go outside.’”
The situation calmed down after that and the fight didn’t happen, but just the thought of being a fly on the wall in this conversation is a wild one. Ultimately, there is a lot to the recruiting process and it’s changed since Isiah’s day, but it’s safe to say he made the right choice by playing for Coach Knight in Indiana, it paved the way for him to become one of the NBA’s greatest stars.
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