Isiah Thomas Loses FIU Debut

New Florida International coach Isiah Thomas brought his winning ways from the NBA to his new job in Coral Gables.

And by "winning" I mean "giving wins to his competition. "Thomas' Golden Panthers lost an exhibition game last night to Northwood College -- a school that isn't even a member of the NCAA.

If there's a bright side in the loss, it's that Thomas lost to a coach with a pretty impressive resume. Northwood is coached by Rollie Massimino -- best known as the coach of the 1985 National Champion Villanova Wildcats.

Thomas regular-season debut will also pit him against a coach with an NCAA title -- the Golden Panthers open their schedule on Monday, November 6th against Roy Williams and the defending national champion Carolina Tar Heels.