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Post by FIUBlue82 on Jun 13, 2007 17:53:52 GMT -5
Turtle Thomas. Press conference tomorrow.
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Post by FIUPantherFan on Jun 13, 2007 17:58:15 GMT -5
My clear second choice, monster recruiter while at ASU and at scUM. scUM fans hate him (which is always a positive!). The thing he needs to do is get himself a pitching coach that can actually develop our talent (you guys think Calvi would like to return to So. Fla?) GO F I U!
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Post by FIUBlue82 on Jun 13, 2007 18:01:32 GMT -5
Info on our new head baseball coach thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/thomas_turtle00.htmlHenry "Turtle" Thomas begins his first season at Arizona State as assistant coach and national recruiting coordinator. Thomas comes to ASU after seven seasons at LSU, where he was the Tiger's hitting instructor and recruiting coordinator. No stranger to big time college baseball, Thomas has coached at some of the elite programs throughout the United States. He began his Division I career as an assistant at Clemson, spending eight seasons there, including a trip to the College World Series in 1980. From there he moved to Georgia Tech, where he spent two years as the assistant head coach under current Miami head coach Jim Morris. In 1988 he was named assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Miami (Florida), where he spent 12 seasons. While with the Hurricanes, Thomas was a part of nine College World Series teams, including the 1999 National Champions. Thomas and Miami went to Omaha six consecutive years from 1994 to 1999. Thomas joined the LSU Tigers in 2000 and promptly won another National Championship, his second in a row. The 2000 title was one of three trips to the College World Series that Thomas made in his seven seasons in Baton Rouge. All told, Thomas has been to 13 College World Series so far in his 29-year coaching career. Thomas is considered one of the premiere college baseball recruiters in the nation, thanks to 18 straight recruiting classes ranked among Collegiate Baseball's Top 10 at both Miami and LSU. He is the only recruiting coordinator in the nation who has signed the number one rated class four times, and he has never had a class rated lower than ninth over the past 18 years. Thomas has also signed the #2 rated class four times. Every class he signed at LSU was ranked in the Top 6, including his 2004 class which was considered #1 in the country. More than 60 of Thomas' recruits have advanced to play pro baseball, including big leaguers Charles Johnson, Alex Fernandez, Pat Burrell, Danny Graves, Alex Cora, Aubrey Huff and Brad Hawpe. He also signed superstars Chipper Jones and Alex Rodriguez to National Letters of Intent while at Miami, although both signed professionally rather than attend college. A 1975 graduate of High Point (N.C.) College, Thomas earned a master's degree from UNC-Greensboro in 1978. He was a four-year letterman at catcher, playing two seasons at Campbell University before completing his final two undergraduate years at High Point. Thomas is married to the former Maria Carmen Nateman, and they have three children, Kevin, Kristen and Keith. He picked up the nickname "Turtle" in junior high school from a classmate who thought he resembled a turtle. WHAT THEY ARE SAYING "Turtle Thomas was not only the best hitting coach I've ever had but also one of the greatest mentors as well. To this day, even after six seasons in the major leagues, I still consult with him about baseball and life. Turtle was always tough on us all in college, but it paid of for many of us who have made it to the big leagues. A lot of hitting in baseball has to do with being prepared mentally and Turtle taught me in college how to be mentally tough. I can't tell you how appreciative I am of everything he's ever done for me." -- Aubrey Huff, Current Baltimore Orioles outfielder "Turtle Thomas is the best coach I've ever seen in 1-on-1 situations. He was very effective working with our hitters and had a noticeable impact on our offense. A tremendous pickup for ASU." -- Hall of Fame coach Skip Bertman "When I speak about loyalty, I think about Turtle Thomas. Turtle possesses a great knowledge of the game of baseball and has a passion for the players he coaches. Helping young players improve and succeed is very important to him, and his enthusiasm for his players is extremely evident." -- Former LSU head coach, Smoke Laval |
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fiupike
Puma
SLEEPING GIANT AWAKES in 08
Posts: 281
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Post by fiupike on Jun 13, 2007 18:23:03 GMT -5
Awesome hire !!! Gooooooooo......... F ------ I ------- U !!!!!
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FIUVoice
Puma
Go Gold and Blue
Posts: 407
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Post by FIUVoice on Jun 13, 2007 18:45:07 GMT -5
Im a big fan of this move...now we just need a top notch pitching coach to come with him
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Post by FIUFanatic on Jun 13, 2007 19:15:24 GMT -5
Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting.....Thomas has always been involved with great teams.....Thanks for the heads up, blue!!
Go FIU!!
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Post by fiurulez on Jun 13, 2007 21:11:52 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. Hopefully he is only a Turtle by name and not by reputation.
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Post by FIUBlue82 on Jun 13, 2007 21:12:16 GMT -5
More info: www.2theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/featured/7923467.htmlBlurb: Former LSU recruiting coordinator Turtle Thomas just saw five members of his first recruiting class at Arizona State chosen in the first 94 picks of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Two more were drafted in the first 12 rounds. |
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Post by FIUFanatic on Jun 13, 2007 23:20:52 GMT -5
Um fans on their board are saying channel 7 confirmed it's Turtle Thomas...Anybody saw that or any other announcement on TV or radio? Thanks. Of course, one fan had to say negative things about it...I've had discussions with him about law school, and he is totally blind about ucg. mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=13#S=13&F=2930&T=621414 |
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Post by FIUGoldenPanther on Jun 14, 2007 0:27:30 GMT -5
Um fans on their board are saying channel 7 confirmed it's Turtle Thomas...Anybody saw that or any other announcement on TV or radio? Thanks. Of course, one fan had to say negative things about it...I've had discussions with him about law school, and he is totally blind about ucg. mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=13#S=13&F=2930&T=621414Yes they did indeed confirm it on Channel 7. |
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Post by The OC Panther on Jun 14, 2007 1:00:00 GMT -5
amazing resume. At leas on paper I cant think of a better hire. Congrats to PG!
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Post by FIUBlue82 on Jun 14, 2007 6:36:45 GMT -5
It's in today's Herald. By the way, the story actually broke RIGHT HERE on fiugoldenpanthers.com when FIUBlue82 reported it prior to any news station or publication in the region  Turtle has won national championships at two schools - LSU and Miami and has an excellent reputation as a top notch recruiter. He is an excellent hire. The fact that we had as much interest in the job as we did, shows that we were indeed underachieving. Lets focus on the future and enough with the comments on what has already taken place. GO FIU! Go Turtle! |
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Post by whoshouse on Jun 14, 2007 7:56:03 GMT -5
Turtle Thomas is excellent. Although, I wonder why Rod D. was not given an interview.
Nevertheless, TT is a major, major upgrade. You have to love what PG is doing w/ FIU sports. I am very pumped.
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Post by FIUBlue82 on Jun 14, 2007 8:11:25 GMT -5
Herald: www.miamiherald.com/588/story/139087.htmlFIU will name Thomas as baseball coach By PETE PELEGRIN ppelegrin@MiamiHerald.com Florida International University is expected to hire Arizona State assistant coach Turtle Thomas today as its baseball coach, replacing Danny Price, who was fired May 19, FIU representative Evan Koch confirmed. Thomas is scheduled to be introduced at a news conference this morning. was a former assistant at the University of Miami and Louisiana State University before joining the Sun Devils this season. At UM and LSU, Thomas was credited as one of the nation's top recruiters. Thomas, who has been in coaching for 29 years, saw 18 consecutive recruiting classes get ranked in Collegiate Baseball's Top 10 while with the Hurricanes and Tigers. He coached at Miami for 12 years and LSU for seven. As recruiting coordinator for UM and LSU, Thomas helped those teams reach 12 College World Series in 19 seasons -- nine with the Hurricanes. Thomas becomes the third baseball coach in FIU history after Tom Wonderling, who began the program in 1973 and coached through 1979, and Price, who coached from 1980 until last month. As the Golden Panthers' new coach, Thomas inherits a team that has not reached the NCAA postseason since 2002 and is coming off a 26-29 season in which it missed its Sun Belt Conference tournament for the first time. Thomas becomes the fourth coaching hire at FIU since athletic director Pete Garcia took over the program in October. Garcia was not available for comment Wednesday. |
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Post by FIUFan on Jun 14, 2007 8:23:23 GMT -5
Great hire PG. Congratulations on being able to bring such a well respected and successful baseball man to FIU. No matter how long PG stays with us, his legacy will be long lasting.
Thank You Pete.
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