In an effort to revive his career, Isiah Thomas has signed a five-year deal with Florida International University.

Thomas has been out of basketball since an unsuccessful five-year run as president of the New York Knicks, spending his last two seasons as coach before being fired in April 2008. He was 56-108 as Knicks coach and 187-223 overall, including a stint with the Indiana Pacers. Thomas still had two years and $12 million remaining on his Knicks contract after this season.

“Coming back to the college game has always been a dream of mine, and I didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to go somewhere where we can build a basketball legacy together,” Thomas said in a statement. “A lot of people don’t know that FIU is one of the 25 largest universities in the country, with a tremendously strong alumni community standing behind us. Most important, I think we can get good players from across Florida and around the country to buy into our plan to make this a top-tier basketball program. I’m committed to growing something here, and strongly believe that over time, we’ll put a team on the floor that everyone at FIU can be proud of.”

It’s good to see Thomas focus on one of his strengths — coaching. For all of his trouble as general manager of the Knicks, he has a reputation for being a pretty good coach. At FIU, he’ll have an opportunity to grow in that area while utilizing his eye for talent in the recruiting game. Thomas was responsible for a few good draft picks while guiding the Knicks. It was the trades that he had trouble with.