If there wasn't much outcry from the general public or the basketball establishment when Isiah Thomas was abruptly dismissed by Florida International University as its head basketball coach, it's because of the Panthers' record for the past three years: 26-65.

Despite a 26-65 record during his three seasons at FIU, Isiah Thomas' players made significant strides in the classroom during his tenure. Jim Rassol/Sun Sentinel/Getty Images

That external silence, however, is in direct contrast to the loud protests from his players and others close to the program because of another record: 11-2. That's Thomas' success rate for graduating players over the past three years. It is as impressive compared to the average graduation rate among Division I men's basketball players as a winning percentage of .285 on the floor is woeful.

"He could've brought in a lot of people to talk to us about basketball," said senior guard DeJuan Wright, who is on track to raise that record to 12-2 this spring. "But he was bringing in professors and counselors to talk to us about life and how to be successful off the court. He did so much for us off the court. We grew as men."

Teams in this year's NCAA Division I men's tournament were on track to graduate 67 percent of their players, according to a report by Dr. Richard Lapchick, director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at UCF. The percentage of graduating African-American players: 60 percent. The percentage of African-American players graduating from all Division I basketball programs is only slightly better: 62.49. To be clear, the study does not pertain to the current student-athletes but to the success rate of the schools in this year's tournament based on four entering classes over a period of six years. So the comparison is not perfect. But, considering that all 14 Panthers who finished under Thomas' watch were minorities, and all but one was African-American, Thomas had FIU defying expectations in at least one respect.

He could've brought in a lot of people to talk to us about basketball. But he was bringing in professors and counselors to talk to us about life and how to be successful off the court. He did so much for us off the court. We grew as men.

--FIU senior DeJuan Wright

Before the school adopted a code of silence regarding Thomas, Paul Dodson, the school's assistant athletic director for media relations, sent a glowing email about Thomas' work on the team's academic front that included the graduate count. In an email in February, Dodson wrote that "last season, the basketball team's APR (Academic Progress Report) multi-year score (910) was the highest it has been in the seven-year history of the APR." He added it also marked the first time the men's basketball program had a score of more than 900. That's still low by overall Division I men's standards -- 944.88 is the average -- but considering FIU had been on academic probation when Thomas arrived, it shows marked improvement.

"We weren't ready to win the NCAA tournament," Thomas says. "But in terms of graduating players and winning off the court, who was better? On the floor, you'd say Kentucky was better than us. But off the floor, who was better? We knew, as coaches and as players, we were playing two games -- basketball and the game of life. The families trusted me with their kids. The great disappointment is that we weren't allowed to finish what we started."

I know, I know: The degree of difficulty in suggesting Thomas has been treated unfairly is monumental. It just isn't done. The court of public opinion already has measured the man based on everything from his work as the New York Knicks' president and then head coach, to the Continental Basketball Association's extinction following his ownership, to allegations by Magic Johnson of a Thomas-led smear campaign after Johnson was diagnosed with HIV. It isn't made any easier by Thomas comparing a team that finished last in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference to the No. 1 Wildcats, as if there might not be programs in between that have won more than 26 games over the past three years and graduated more African-American players than Kentucky's 60 percent.