First Down

HE SAID WHAT?

“I’m glad to welcome you all and to welcome Isiah Thompson as FIU’s basketball coach.” — Florida International provost Ron Berkman, introducing Isiah Thomas

GAINING NOTORIETY

You’re an athletic director in the fairly anonymous Sun Belt Conference, and you’re hiring a new coach for your fairly anonymous basketball program. You could find a bright, young dynamo with a fire in his belly and good ideas percolating in his head. But few would notice. And the thing is, you want to be noticed.

So you instead hire a “big name,” a former NBA legend who has professional experience but none coaching college players; who last year was hospitalized after taking an overdose of pills but claims it was his daughter who needed medical assistance; who lost an $11 million civil suit for sexual harassment; who put together a team with a record NBA payroll that twice tied the franchise record for losses — a team routinely described as “dysfunctional,” a team he coached for one of those years.

Before that, this “big name” took another NBA club to three straight playoffs but was immediately fired by the new president, a fellow legend and peer who knew some things about his coach. And before that, he failed as general manager of an expansion team. Oh, he also bought the Continental Basketball Association — and killed it within two years. An entire league. That can’t be easy.

You’re Pete Garcia, athletic director at Florida International University, and you just hired Isiah Thomas. Among a raft of criticism, the move instantly sparked a campus protest and inspired T-shirts that read “Fire Isiah University.”

Well done, Pete. People are noticing, all right.

TWT Five ” Notable NBA playoff first-round upsets

1. Golden State over Dallas, 2007 — Warriors go 42-40 but beat the Mavericks, who won a franchise-best 67 games.

2. New York over Miami, 1999 — After lockout-shortened season, Knicks are the first No. 8 seed to get to the Finals.

3. Denver over Seattle, 1994 — First time a No. 8 seed takes down a No. 1 seed as 42-win Nuggets beat 63-win Sonics.

4. New Jersey over Philadelphia, 1984 — Former Maryland teammates Buck Williams and Albert King lead Nets over defending champs.

5. Houston over L.A. Lakers, 1981 — Coach Paul Westhead was fired early the next season after best-of-three series defeat.