Florida International forward Dominique Ferguson is entering the NBA draft after being denied permission to talk to other schools.

"They won't give me my release and let me play anywhere else," said Ferguson, who sought to transfer in the wake of Isiah Thomas’ dismissal. "They give schools too much power and treat us like they own us."

The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 8.7 points and 6.2 rebounds this past season.

"It's over," Ferguson said. "I'm going to put my name in for the NBA draft."

Isiah Thomas has been relieved of his duties as head coach of Florida International.

"We want to thank Isiah Thomas for his three years here at FIU," Paul Garcia said. "However, we have decided to take the program in a different direction."

Thomas was shocked by the firing.

"This is the most surprising thing that has happened to me in basketball," Thomas said to ESPN's Andy Katz. "I never been fired before for basketball reasons. This is the first time.

"When I was in Toronto, I was trying to buy a team and I left. When I was in Indiana, Larry Bird told me that he liked what I was doing but he was closer to Rick Carlisle. The whole thing in New York was crazy. This is the first time someone told me that I was being fired for basketball reasons."